The Electoral Commission officials in Jinja have banned campaigning and hanging up of posters for Jinja East Constituency candidates at night.
This follows cases of assault that have been reported in the last one week between supporters of Nathan Igeme Nabeta of the National Resistance Movement and Paul Mwiru of the Forum for Democratic Change party.
Fred Kaggwa, a supporter of Paul Mwiru was last week beaten and left unconscious in Walukuba East after he tried to stop Nabeta’s supporters from defacing Mwiru’s posters. He is admitted at Jinja regional referral hospital.
Samson Lubega, the southeastern regional police spokesperson says factions of different candidates have not followed the election guidelines resulting into violence, hanging of posters in areas that are prohibited and causing insecurity in Walukuba, Masese, Rock and Kirinya villages.
Posters are forcefully pinned on people’s property which makes it difficult for the owners of the property to remove them. Among the properties where campaign posters are hanged include sign posts, billboards and houses.
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Lubega says the case of assault is still under police investigation.
Flavia Mujulizi, the Jinja district returning officer says candidates whose supporters don’t follow campaign guidelines will be disqualified in accordance to the electoral commission rules.
She says complaints have been reported at her office, of supporters of different camps printing shirts of their opponents and causing violence in the night and this has to be stopped.
She says hanging of campaign posters and campaigns should be done from 6am to 6pm daily.
Jinja East by election is slated for February 9th 2012. Five candidates are contesting for the parliamentary seat.
