Voting in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party local council primaries in Nakasero 4 UTC village had not begun by mid-morning on Tuesday amid disputes over voter eligibility and the register to be used, stoking tensions between rival camps.
Party supporters had gathered at the designated polling station as early as 7am, but the exercise was paralysed by sharp disagreements, with one faction accusing a group of importing non-residents to influence the outcome.
Witnesses claim the alleged outsiders were ferried in by a known taxi driver suspected to have ties to one of the candidates.
“They are not from here,” said an agitated supporter who declined to be named for fear of reprisal.
“We saw them arrive in a taxi, and none of them is on our village register. How can you let strangers choose our leaders?”
The claim of voter importation was denied by the opposing camp, which instead demanded that the election proceed based on the NRM yellow book—a party membership register—rather than any localised or pre-approved list of residents.
Party officials are under pressure to deliver free and fair primaries after past incidents of rigging, delayed results, and internal divisions led to widespread dissatisfaction during the 2020 cycle.
The NRM secretariat has repeatedly assured members that new measures are in place to improve transparency.