Top Story: EC Disqualifies NUP Candidate, Leaving Party Out of Kasese LCV Race
Kasese, September 6, 2025 — In a dramatic turn during Friday’s local government nominations, the Electoral Commission (EC) rejected Mr. Gad Mbayahi Baluku Bakwanamaha—the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) flagbearer for the Kasese District Chairperson (LCV) race—after his nomination papers failed to meet required verification standards .
Arriving at the Kasese Multipurpose Hall in the Nyamwamba Division just before the 5 p.m. cut-off, Mr. Bakwanamaha and NUP officials scrambled to submit his nomination documents. However, the EC’s Returning Officer, Godfrey Mbabazi, clarified that only already-verified submissions would be processed . Bakwanamaha’s application was rejected because his signatures had not been properly verified, a key eligibility requirement .
In response to the disqualification, Bakwanamaha addressed supporters inside the hall: “Let us just walk out and leave this place because what brought us here has not been achievable,” he said, visibly disappointed .
NUP figures, including former Busongora South MP Jackson Mbaju Kathika, accused the EC of bias, faulting the Returning Officer for denying party agents the opportunity to monitor the data entry process. “Why don’t you allow candidates to sit with the data clerks as the names are entered, so that when one fails, we see it ourselves?” Kathika demanded .
Brian Basisa, the NUP’s Kasese District Chairperson, also criticised the nomination procedures, arguing that the three-day window allotted for submitting nomination documents was inadequate for a large district like Kasese. He highlighted long queues, sluggish systems, and poor EC preparation as key obstacles .
With NUP effectively shut out, the Kasese District Chairperson contest will proceed without its representation—narrowing the field to flagbearers from the NRM, FDC, and PFF
