Albert Charles Oduman, the outgoing Bukedea County MP, blames his defeat in last month's elections on voters who would rather be bribed than choose leaders who will fully represent them in Parliament.
Oduman received national attention over the past five years for his work on Parliament's public accounts committee. Having seen the widespread fraud in the public sector, he focused his campaigns on anti-corruption issues. He says he was disappointed that people were more willing to receive money to vote for his opponents that to hear his plans to fight corruption.
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Oduman says there is a serious need to examine the results of the elections to determine whether parliament is qualified to fully represent the needs of the people.
Charles Oduman says he has been fighting graft in the public sector since he served as chief accountant on the Privatization and Utility Sector Reform Project before his election to parliament.
He says he has been pushing for reforms aimed at financial prudence, but it is now apparent that his constituents don't share his values on this matter.
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Nandala Mafabi, the Budadiri MP who currently heads the parliamentary public accounts committee, says several members of his committee created enemies because of their unrelenting right against corruption. He claims corrupt officials, knowing committee members' stand against graft, used huge amounts of money to sway voters.
Nandala reasons that he only managed to bounce back cause he managed to convince his constituents that development of the country can only come when corruption has been dealt with.
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Like Oduman, Nandala Mafabi wants the elections scrutinized to determine why some voters were so easy to bribe.
Isha Otto, the out going Oyam South MP, says he is also looking for answers. He too was surprised that some of the best performing MPs were not elected back to the House.
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The use of monetary inducements during the elections was highlighted by several election monitors in the run up to the polls. It was seen as pivotal in influencing the presidential, parliamentary and local council elections.
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