President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has congratulated Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) candidate, Dr. Eunice Apio for winning the Oyam North by-election which were conducted on Thursday, July 6, 2023, but condemned vote rigging.

President Museveni in a statement also congratulated the NRM candidate, Samuel Engola Junior upon emerging the second with a small difference between him and Apio.

“Congratulations to our allies, the UPC and for the candidate, Eunice Apio, for winning the Oyam by-elections. Congratulations also to the NRM and the candidate Engola Junior because the difference between the two was very small,” he said.

He asked NRM to run to court for legal procedures in case they establish that UPC carried out any form of vote rigging.

“If UPC cheated in anyway, the NRM can follow the legal channels,” President Museveni said.

However, President Museveni who is also the Chairman of NRM party condemned vote rigging and malpractices that was involved during the election process.

He therefore demanded a lawful action against those individual that got involved in the illegal ticking ballot papers on behalf of voters.

“I condemn and demand action against the law-breakers that are said to have ticked the ballots on behalf of the voters. This is treason and no NRM should ever take part in that crime,” he noted in a statement.

The President said that it is the opposition that has been carrying out vote rigging around Kampala, which he attributed to the incompetent NRM officials for failure to grab and have them arrested.

“It is the Opposition that has been doing that around Kampala, with the incompetent NRM officials failing to catch them. If voters cannot do so genuinely and influence the choice of the candidates and parties, then how can the People guarantee their future and discipline leaders? This is why NRM went to the bush. Vote rigging, bribery, violence, lies, etc, must be banished from our elections,” he added.

President Museveni insisted that voting should be done by electronic means for pre-ticking of the ballot papers not to occur.

He called upon the pioneers of UPC to sensitize their members about the historical mistakes that disadvantaged Uganda.

The President urged the NRM in Pham and the rest of the citizens to concentrate on improving livelihood through wealth creation and avoid cheap politics.

“The NRM in Oyam and the rest of the Country should concentrate on wealth and get away from the sterile and nonsensical politics of cheap popularity-giving money, attending burials, etc,” he said.

However, Dr. Tang Odoi attributed NRM’s losing of the by-election to the weaknesses within the NRM party.

Some political analysts said that the voters could have got tired of politics of inheritance where some sons and daughters have been voted but failed to perform and represent them well in Parliament.

In the recently concluded Oyam North by-election, the Electoral Commission declared Dr. Eunice Apio tallied a total of 15,718 votes, while the NRM Party candidate, Junior Samuel Okello Engola, got 15,161 votes. Daniel Okello of FDC got a total of 415 votes, and Newton Okello of NUP got 403 votes. the by-elections come after the death of Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola who was shot by his body guard in May, 2023 at his home in Kisasi, a Kampala suburb.