A failure to regularly engage and listen to the issues and grievances among the electorates has cost several National Resistance Movement (NRM) Members of Parliament in the Acholi Sub-region their precious seats in the 12th Parliament.
While last Thursday’s general election saw President Museveni re-elected with a block vote in Acholi, several ruling NRM party and NRM-leaning independent parliamentary candidates, who were also incumbents, were beaten. Several residents told Daily Monitor in constituencies where the incumbent MPs lost due to their long-distance relationship with the voters, chronic absence in their respective areas, as well as their inability to mobilise and lobby support and resources that propel development in the local communities.
For example, in Gulu District, both the Woman Member of Parliament Sharon Laker Balmoyi (who lost the NRM primaries to Ms Phoebe Ayoo Obol and contested on an Independent ticket) and Aswa County MP Simon Wokorach (NRM) lost their seats. ‘Laker lost right from the primaries because when we voted for her in 2021, it was rare to see her unless at public events. She does not synchronise with us and does not have time to understand our challenges [so as] to help us,’ Ms Joyce Abolo, a resident of Cwero Trading Centre in Paicho Sub-county., says Ms Laker, who polled 2,448 votes, came in the third position after Ms Nancy Atimango (Independent), who got 8,368 votes. The incumbent lost to NRM’s Obol, who got 13,311 votes.
Others in the race included Independent candidates Filda Anyadwe Onek (267 votes) , Irene Lalam (196 votes), and Maureen Atim (150 votes). Meanwhile, Mr Wokorach (NRM) garnered 9,781 votes, trailing Democratic Party’s (DP) Patrick Okello Onguti, who got 13,889 votes and won the Aswa County seat. Other candidates in the race, who contested on the Independent ticket were Mr Johnson Olwa Agara (707 votes), James Oringa (202 votes), and Walter Okot (174 votes). The Nwoya District Woman MP, Ms Judith Peace Achan, who contested on the Independent ticket after trailing in the NRM primaries, lost her seat to NRM’s Christine Lanyero Awany (NRM), who got 12,715 votes. Ms Achan got 6,866 votes.
Meanwhile, Nwoya County MP Tonny Awany, who got 5,022 votes, lost to DP’s Denis Geoffrey Opiyo, who garnered 5,044 votes, a difference of 22 votes. In Chua East County, Mr John Calvin Okoya (Independent), having garnered 14,688 votes, defeated NRM candidate and State minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Oryem Okello, who got 12,297 votes. In Agago North constituency, Mr Benson Lugwar (Independent), who got 11,837 votes, floored the incumbent, Mr John Amos Okot (NRM), who got 10,918 votes. In Laroo-Pece Division of Gulu City, DP president Norbert Mao won with 7,359 votes, flooring the incumbent, Fr Charles Onen (Independent but NRM leaning), who garnered 5,562 votes and NRM candidate Tonny Kitara, who got 2,867 votes.
Earlier this week, Fr Charles Onen, the Pece-Laroo Division (incumbent) MP, blamed his loss on voter bribery and the failure of Biometric Voter Verification Kits on Election Day. He, however, downplayed reports of his dwindling support in the constituency. ‘I got over 5,000 votes without giving a single coin to anyone, while my opponents splashed money to bribe opponents, and I ran my campaign without funding from anyone. Anyone saying I received funds from someone is lying,’ Fr Onen said. Meanwhile, in the Pader District Woman MP race, a hotly contested NRM primaries between former MP Christine Doreen Lowila and Ms Paska Aciro Menya (incumbent and an Independent candidate), in which Ms Lowila won, progressed to become the determinant factor when Ms Lowila polled 22,690 votes against Ms Menya’s 16,213 votes.
In Agago County, Agago District, former MP Edward Otto Makmot bounced back after garnering 11,982 votes while the incumbent, Mr David Lagen (NRM) got 7,017). In the Aruu North MP race, NRM’s Wellborn Ottober Odiya (14,327) upset Ms Santa Okot, the incumbent of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) , who polled 4,578 votes and DF’s George Kibwota, who got 7,315 votes. Also, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party’s Denis Amere floored State minister for Environment Beatrice Atim Anywar, who got 5,013 votes) to retain the Kitgum Municipality MP seat. Mr Amere garnered 6,176 votes.
Museveni win
President Museveni was able to come out with the biggest fraction of votes in the Acholi sub-region in his last week’s re-election. According to Electoral Commission records, of the total 386,573 votes that were cast out of the 849,744 registered voters, Mr Museveni plucked off a block share of 313,319 votes while the remaining candidates shared the remaining 73,254 votes, with NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, polling 35,193 votes .