Balimwezo takes early lead despite low voter turn up 

Voting in the local government elections concluded across the country at 4pm on Thursday.

The polls opened in the morning for district and city local government elections including chairpersons, mayors and councilors.

In the capital Kampala, the exercise went on smoothly apart from earlier reports of delayed delivery of voting materials in parts of the city.

The exercise was, however, fraught with very low voter turnout across the city.

Stakeholders including the candidates expressed concerns about the electorate's limited participation in this election, with some blaming it on the violence and rigging witnessed in last week’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

“I have been standing here for 20 minutes after casting my vote and no one else has shown up after me,” remarked the incumbent Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.

Minister of Justice Hon Norbert Mao, who accompanied his wife Beatrice Mao, the DP candidate in the Mayoral race warned that shunning elections results bad leadership

“The people who don’t turn up to vote are the ones that give us bad leaders,” he said.

NUP candidate Ronald Balimwezo blamed the voter turn up on the government which has not scientized the public about the exercise

Hon Balimwezo appeared to take an early lead in the multiple polling stations across the five city divisions.

In Ssendagala Zone in Makindye Balimwezo polled 40 voted while Erias Lukwago of PFF had 10 votes followed by Kizito Nsubuga had 6 votes.

The vote results will later tonight be transferred to the Electoral Commission’s Kampala tally center at MUBS in Nakawa where the winners will be announced