Anti-riot police in Adjumani are battling angry crowds who are protesting the outcome of the East Moyo parliamentary elections.
Early exit polls from East Moyo indicated that the current Member of Parliament, Piro Santos Eruaga, was in the lead to retain his post. It was a significant victory for Eruaga's supporters who have accused his two-time rival, General Moses Ali, of consistently sabotaging his campaigns.
Lazarua Ajale, one of Eruaga's supporters, claim that as dusk approached the Adjumani returning officer stopped the public counting of votes. He says that is when suspicion grew.
Soon after that, the assistant district returning officer Peter Tandu, announced that Moses Ali had won the vote by a large margin.
There was a loud uproar and the crowd witnessing the vote count shouted in disbelief. People demanded that Tandu's boss come out of hiding to explain himself.
This didn't happen and soon heated words turned into hardened fists. The crowd threw stones at the election officers and demanded justice at any cost.
Anti-riot police were called in. They fired teargas at the mob, but people were not too easily put off. The fighting was still on as late as 7:30 p.m.
Police have closed the roads to Gulu and Pakele and are patrolling the streets, dispersing any small crods.
The Adjumani Resident District Commander, Edwin Yakobo Komakech, says the anomaly is being investigated for an immediate solution.
Neither Moses Ali nor Santos Eruaga provided a comment on these events.
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