Chaos marred the Forum for Democratic Change internal elections for the East African Legislative Assembly—EALA on Tuesday.
The party National Executive Committee members endorsed the Secretary for Policy and Research Augustine Ruzindana and Anita Among, who is a university lecturer and a member of the FDC treasury, as candidates for the EALA elections slated for Wednesday May 30.
Ruzindana won with 49 votes, beating John Kazoora and Christopher Kibazanga who polled 34 and 27 votes respectively.
Among polled 55 votes to win the women’s ticket ahead of FDC Vice President Salaamu Musumba with 39 votes and Ingrid Turinawe who garnered 20 votes. Prossy Naikoba got 6 votes.
However, while the elections proceeded, angry party members who are also non voters stormed the party headquarters demanding to witness the process. They were locked out of the election venue on one side of the compound.
The angry supporters demanded to deal with the Kampala district chairperson Livingstone Kizito and Among whom they say bribed some members of the NEC to vote against Salaamu Musumba.
Over 30 police officers were deployed at the headquarters to calm the situation in vain. At the start of vote counting, the angry supporters forced their way past security and started throwing insults at Among. They also attacked the party secretary general Alice Alaso saying she had a hand in decampaigning Musumba who has fought for the party for years.
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Alaso and Among were sneaked out of the party offices escorted by police leaving behind angry supporters who wanted to beat them up. Kizito almost failed to leave the party premises in his car, as some supporters dared him to come out and face them.
The chaos also was clear evidence that the party members were divided. Some officials asked Musumba to talk to her supporters and calm them down. At certain points Alaso was overheard saying, Salaamu’s goons are going to kill us.
However, Musumba kept her cool and stayed put as the winner of the election was declared by the party electoral commissioner Dan Mugarura.
Musumba said the election process has given her an opportunity to look at the character of the party they have built over time.
She adds that it has been a big mirror on the kind of people they are and an indicator that democracy can have by-products which need proper mechanisms to deal with party wrangles.
//Cue in: “It has been a big mirror…
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Ruzindana says the election is just the beginning of the process considering the party is still pursuing the case before the East African Court of Justice.
Ruzindana, who is seen as the unifying factor in the party, says there is no need to celebrate, but ensure that the party members stay united and not offend each other.
//Cue in: “There is no cause now…”
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Among described her win as an expression of democracy within the party and said the win was not hers but for the party. She also asked those she had wronged to forgive her saying she has forgiven them too.
