Two candidates have been nominated for the Kisoro District Woman Member of Parliament bye-elections on the first day of the nomination exercise.
The two-day exercise, taking place at the Kisoro District Hall, is being led by Daniel Nayebare, the Kisoro District Electoral Commission Returning Officer. The first to be nominated was NRM’s Rose Kabagenyi, who was nominated at 3 PM.
Kabagenyi stated that she is not a newcomer, having served in the 10th Parliament. If elected, she believes it would be easier for her to lobby for the people of Kisoro. She called for unity among the leaders in Kisoro, urging them to work together for the district’s development.
At 4:40 PM, FDC’s Juliet Musanase was nominated, accompanied by party members led by Toteberuka Tibamwenda, the FDC Chairperson for the Electoral Commission.
Ramanthan Ndikuyeze, the Kisoro NRM Vice Chairperson, warned some leaders in the district against creating confusion within the party by not supporting the party’s flag bearer. He emphasized that such behavior would not be tolerated by the party.
Daniel Nayebare reported that five parties have picked forms to field candidates, including the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), National Unity Platform (NUP), and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
He mentioned that two individuals, Grace Akifeza Ngabirano and Jemimah Irankunda, are standing as independent candidates. Irankunda is affiliated with the Patriotic League of Uganda and recently participated in the NRM primaries but did not win.
In a related development, Susan Natukunda, a second-year student at Metropolitan International University in Kisoro and the guild speaker, was declared the UPC flag bearer by party president James Jimmy Akena after the party primaries.
Aisha Chimpaye of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was turned away by the Returning Officer after she arrived at 5:10 PM. She was informed that nominations had closed at 5 PM and was advised to return the following day.
