Results from most polling stations show that Engineer Ronald Nsubuga Balimwezo of the National Unity Platform (NUP) is leading in the race for Kampala Lord Mayor. Early unofficial tallies indicate that he is set to win, as counting continues late into the night. Balimwezo, accompanied by his wife, cast his vote at Mutungo Zone 4 in Nakawa Division, joining thousands of Kampala residents eager to make their voices heard.
Many candidates spent the night at the tallying centre to monitor the process closely. Balimwezo told URN that while the counting is slow, it is necessary to ensure transparency and accuracy. He explained that the initial plan to tally by parishes caused tension, and his team insisted that results be displayed and compared directly with the declaration forms from polling stations. “The process has dragged on, but we are patient and content. Accuracy is key,” he said.
Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of Opposition representing John Mary Ssebufu, a Nakawa West councillor recently arrested, praised the tallying process as being smoother than last week’s presidential and parliamentary elections. He emphasized that results read from polling stations must match the declaration forms. He also noted that delays were expected due to small errors in the initial tallies.
The tallying process has been conducted under heavy security, with soldiers and police deployed to maintain order. At the Makerere University Business School (MUBS) tally centre, tensions flared as candidates and their agents protested some of the results being read. The officer responsible for announcing results faced verbal abuse and disputes, particularly from Kawempe Division.
Chaos erupted at the Kawempe tally tent, where agents and candidates argued that the results being read did not match the declaration forms in their possession. Ashraf Busulwa, an agent from Makerere II, accused the electoral officials of favoring ruling NRM candidates while ignoring complaints from NUP agents. He and his colleague, Jackson Mayanja, representing Denis Mukiibi, claimed that results from Mulago Parish did not tally correctly. Mukiibi is contesting as a councillor in Kawempe South.
Jennifer Kyobutungi, the Kampala District Returning Officer, explained that tallying was expected to conclude within five hours from 10:00 p.m., since results had already been tallied at the parish level. However, the insistence by candidates on polling-station-by-polling-station verification slowed the process significantly.
Kyobutungi added that each of Kampala’s five divisions has an election officer who reads results from sealed envelopes, scans them, and tallies them. The division results are then forwarded to the central tent, where the District Commission presiding officer declares the winners. Despite repeated interruptions, officials assured the process would be completed and results officially announced soon.
As the night progressed, tensions remained high, but Balimwezo’s strong lead across most centres gave his supporters hope. Kampala residents watched closely, aware that the final results would determine the city’s leadership for the coming years.
