Nwoya Woman MP Lillian Adong has declared she will seek a second term in office as an independent candidate.
Adong, an NRM member lost in the recent party primaries to Judith Peace Acan. Adong got 5,503 votes while her rival Acan got 6,919.
Speaking to Acholi Times by phone on Tuesday, Adong said she has already picked the nomination forms to contest for her current seat. She alleges the NRM party primary was unfair.
On Saturday NRM Deputy Secretary, Richard Todwong, said during the president Museveni Campaign rally in Anaka town Council that Adong had been offered a job at state house, but Adong denied Todwong’s claims.
“The people in Nwoya voted at the gun point,’’ Adong said on Tuesday adding that the ‘‘police intimidated and escorted voters to ensure they vote the candidates being pushed for.’’
Adong claimed the plan to rig the elections in favour of her opponent was hatched from the NRM secretariat and that she was recently accused by a senior NRM official in Nwoya for belonging to Amama Mbabazi’s Go Forward camp.
But her claims were denied by the Nwoya NRM district registrar Patrick Opiyo. Opiyo said the party never received any complaints from Adong after the primary elections in which she was defeated.
Recently Tony Awany who lost to Amed Opio Sunday in the NRM primary election for Nwoya Member of Parliament also declared that he will run as an independent candidate.
At Museveni’s Saturday rally in Anaka, Todwong denied rumours that he had contributed to the defeat of some unnamed NRM candidates from Nwoya in the party primaries
“I want to sound this as a last warning,’’ Todwong said ‘‘the rumours that I contributed in failing candidates should stop from today on wards because I never participating in campaigning for any aspirants. “
NRM’s nation-wide primary elections were rocked by allegations of vote rigging. Many of the losers in the polls have declared that they will run as independent candidates. The list includes some ministers like Henry Banyenzaki, the State Minister for Economic Monitoring in the Office of the President and MP of Rubanda West in Kabale district.
By Denis Omony
