Unlike the voters in normal constituencies who are supposedly bribed with a few thousand shillings, in the workers election taking place at Kibuli the bribes are in millions of shillings.
Ugly scenes of voter bribery by union leaders are taking center stage as the workers’ electoral college convenes to elect supposed honourable members to the eleventh parliament.
States are very high for Individual Workers MPs as they get the highest pay in transport millage allowances because they supposedly criss-cross the entire country which is their supposed constituency.
Today the workers’ electoral college constituted by 500 delegates is being hosted at Kibuli senior secondary school to elect five representatives. Delegates are drawn from each of the 46 registered unions and 40 non-unionized workers coming from different regions of the country.
However, several candidates and their agents have been openly bribing voters. Many could be seen approaching individual delegates as they arrived at the venue and making indecent offers to others found the delegate in the dining hall where they were gathering to have breakfast and later lunch.
Fresh and Independent candidate Annet Birungi says this has been one of the most expensive campaign. Although she didn’t disclose how much she invested in the campaign, she says the incumbent couldn’t easily comb for support from voters using with their money.
During campaigns on Sunday afternoon, some candidates during their five minutes talk physically splashed money that voters scrambled for. Not even Electoral Officials tried stop the cash orgy as the delegates fought the showers of cash from the candidates. Birungi wishes that voters look beyond the money and vote issues as presented by individuals candidates.
