By Hussein Kiganda
Yesterday, May 16, singer King Saha (real name Mansur Ssemanda) expressed worry over the possibility of vote rigging in the upcoming Uganda Musicians Association (UMA) elections.
The singer is running for the position of president in the elections set to take place on May 23.
Saha said he had been told that the register he had been given was being updated every day by UMA’s electoral commission, raising suspicions on whether there would not be any rigging.
“They gave me a register and told me that those were the people that were going to vote. Now I have heard that they are registering other people and this means that the register will have to change. If it changes, then I am worried that they may rig votes,” he said.
The electoral commission chairman, Geoffrey Jeff Ekongot, said the association is still registering new members, who are also musicians.
“The association has been registering new members every year. Many other new members are being registered and we shall do this every year to lure more artistes into the association. Elections can’t stop us from registering new members,” he said.
Ekongot also added that the system would be displayed at the tally centre to show the candidates how transparent it is.
“We shall put the system outside so that everyone can be able to see how the elections shall be going on and what the results are. So I don’t think there will be any vote irregularities,” he assured.
Ekongot, however, did not comment on whether the new members being registered into the association would be registered for voting.
King Saha is running against the incumbent Cindy Sanyu.
