JOURNALIST SOLOMON SSERWANJA WINS LC1 ELECTION BY ONE VOTE IN MUKONO

Solomon Sserwanja jubilating after winning.

URN

Journalist Solomon Sserwanja has been elected Local Council One (LC1) chairperson for Bamutakudde Village in Kyampisi Sub-county, Mukono District, after edging his closest rival by a single vote.

Sserwanja, a former NBS Television journalist who contested as an independent candidate, polled 106 votes to defeat National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Badru Ssozi Lule Kirwana, who garnered 105 votes in a tightly contested election.

Speaking to Uganda Radio Network (URN) after his victory, Sserwanja said he contested for the village’s top leadership position because he wanted to contribute to improving the community where he has lived for the past 10 years.

“I moved to this village with my family about 10 years ago. I know the challenges affecting this village because they affect me too. The blasting by stone quarry companies affects all of us. Our houses have developed cracks, and we have challenges accessing water,” Sserwanja said.

He said his experience, networks and access to government officials would help him lobby for solutions to the village’s problems. “I have access to friends and people in government. I can knock on doors, so why not use that as leverage to improve the lives of our people? I want Bamutakudde to become a model village.

It’s time for educated and professional people to come back and take up these leadership positions. They should not be left to social rejects, drunkards and school dropouts. This country can only be transformed one village at a time,” he said.

Sserwanja also pledged to closely monitor the implementation of government programs to ensure residents benefit from them. “We have Parish Development Model (PDM) funds, but no one in this village has received that money. It disappears at the parish level. As an investigative journalist, I have the capacity to follow up on such programmes. This is not a job; it is a service,” he said. His opponent, Badru Ssozi Lule Kirwana, rejected the outcome, alleging several irregularities during the election.

Ssozi claimed that additional voters were included on the village register on the morning of polling, contrary to Electoral Commission guidelines. He also alleged that election officials refused to count him among the candidates after he misplaced his polling slip.

“I have been cheated. I was not counted as a candidate. They also removed one of my supporters from the queue, claiming he was not a voter, yet his name was in the register. This election should be repeated,” Ssozi said.

Earlier in the day, voting was briefly disrupted after some residents whose names appeared on the national voters’ register were missing from the village register. Some voters argued that anyone residing in the village and appearing on the national register should be allowed to vote.

However, the presiding officer ruled that only voters whose names appeared on the official village register were eligible to participate in the LC1 election. Police intervened to calm the situation, restoring order before voting resumed, with residents lining up behind their preferred candidates.