Buyanja Town Council Leadership Elections Postponed Following Speakership Dispute

Rukungiri: The election of the Speaker and Executive Committee members for Buyanja Town Council has been postponed to May 22, at 10:00 a.m. following disputes that arose during the voting process.

The swearing-in ceremony, held on May 21, at Buyanja Sub-county Council Hall, started smoothly with the newly elected Town Council Chairperson, Benard Musinguzi, taking the oath of office and oath of allegiance.

The newly elected councillors also took their oaths before proceedings moved to the election of the Speaker.

During the nomination process, two candidates were nominated for the position, Anthony Nshoborokirwe and Henry Tumusiime. Voting was conducted, but the two candidates ended in a tie after the first round. It was later discovered that the Mayor had not cast his vote.

A fresh vote was ordered to break the tie, but concerns over the election process emerged after it was reported that a non-councillor, identified as Christine Ngangoma, had nominated Henry Tumusiime for the speakership. Councillors argued that this was contrary to the provisions of the law, which require nominations to be made by duly sworn-in council members.

Anthony Nshoborokirwe, one of the candidates for Speaker, raised the matter before the Rukungiri District Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Hillary Agaba, seeking clarification on the legality of the nomination and the voting procedure.

Agaba, who was presiding over the ceremony, referred to the relevant legal provisions and clarified that only sworn-in councillors were eligible to nominate candidates. He advised the council to proceed with another round of voting to resolve the matter.

However, both the councillors and the candidates declined to continue with the election, citing concerns about irregularities in the process.

As a result, Deputy CAO Agaba postponed the elections for the Speaker and Executive Committee members to May 22 at 10:00 a.m. at the same venue.