Africa-Press – Uganda. With just two days to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) primary elections, parliamentary candidates in Tororo District are making their final campaign pushes — even as escalating internal disputes threaten to derail the electoral process.
On Monday, candidates vying for various parliamentary positions wrapped up their rallies, traversing their constituencies in a last bid to win over undecided voters.
Many voiced confidence in their campaigns and called for calm and high voter turnout when the district heads to the polls on Thursday, July 17.
“I have extensively engaged with my people, though the time was limited. Now, I leave the rest to the voters to decide,” said George Oketcho, a parliamentary aspirant. “We remain hopeful that this will be our victory.”
Deogracius Emojong, another candidate, said his agents were already deployed to monitor polling stations and guard against any irregularities.
“I urge our electoral officials to execute their duties diligently to avoid any form of malpractice because we shall not tolerate that,” he warned.
District Registrar Joseph Kadoketch assured the public that the Electoral Commission had finalized logistical and security preparations.
“We are very ready for this election,” he said. “We have held security meetings and will deploy police, prisons, and UPDF across all the 1,338 villages. This election must be a successful one.”
But away from the campaign trail, a bitter standoff at the Tororo NRM branch office is threatening to cast a shadow over the entire process.
Local party leaders are protesting the recent appointment of a new district registrar, Charles Iroota, who replaces suspended official Wilberforce Okware.
NRM’s Electoral Commission Chairperson, Tanga Odoi, sanctioned Okware’s suspension, but the move has drawn fierce resistance from party officials in both Tororo County North and South.
Fredrick Angura, the MP for Tororo County South, was blunt in his criticism.
“We are asking the Electoral Commission to appoint a credible person to conduct the exercise in our branch,” he said. “If not, let a leader be sent from the centre. You cannot impose someone whose credibility is in question.”
Further fueling tensions is the sudden and unannounced relocation of the county party office from Osian-Shire Road to a new site at the post office along Uhuru Drive.
Party leaders claim the decision was made without their input, and have vowed to reject any election materials distributed from the new location.
“This is not about Angura as a candidate, it’s about Tororo County,” Angura said. “Sub-county chairpersons have stated that whoever picks materials from an office not sanctioned by us will face consequences.”
As the clock ticks down to voting day, the NRM national secretariat is under growing pressure to step in and resolve the brewing crisis.
With over 1,300 villages set to participate, the party risks a chaotic or contested poll unless urgent action is taken to restore trust and ensure a transparent process.
For now, all eyes are on Tororo — not just for the winners and losers of the primaries, but for whether Uganda’s ruling party can maintain order within its own ranks.
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