Voting in several Ugandan villages was cancelled after hundreds of Kenyans reportedly crossed the border to participate in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party polls.
The disruption occurred in Buteba Sub-county in the Eastern Division, which is near the Kenya-Uganda border.
Busia District NRM Chairperson Eric Masinga confirmed that elections were stopped in four villages, Alupe, Amagoro, Abochet, and Okame, because of unlawful voting by foreigners.
“We were strictly following the yellow book, so when some Kenyans crossed and insisted on voting, chaos broke out, leading to the cancellation of the voting process,” Masinga stated.
Mainga added that the elections in the affected villages had been rescheduled for the following day.
The worst-affected areas included Marachi D, Sofia A, and Sofia B in the Eastern Division, where the voting process faced delays after reports emerged that some candidates had brought in large numbers of Kenyan nationals to vote.
Although the process was disrupted, voting eventually resumed.
Eastern Division NRM Party Registrar, Linet Lilian Acheng, said that despite the confusion, elections continued after candidates agreed to change the voting method.
“We tried using the yellow book, but candidates declined the procedures, and we had to allow people to line up without following the guidelines,” Acheng explained.
In Dabani Sub-county, polls were not held in Nangwe North and South and Shimitumba after party members found their names missing from the voters' register.
According to the report, in Rukaka village, Busime Sub-county, police fired shots in the air to disperse violent party members.
NRM party publicist Rogers Mulindwa blamed the chaos on individuals not listed in their respective village registers.
"I have been to a number of villages in Busia District, and voting is ongoing without major disruption, but there are a few cases of non-registered voters wanting to vote," Mulindwa said.
Busia borders Uganda and Kenya, with ethnic communities like the Samia and Teso having family ties across both countries, making it challenging to distinguish between Ugandan and Kenyan citizens.
