Our Reporter
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Abdu Khalim Rwasampijja, a second year student of SWASA emerged winner of the IUIU Main Campus Guild President re-election that was held on Saturday evening. The Mbale based campus is seeking to replace the recently thrown out Muyyindi Kassim on allegations of altering academic results. In an election boycotted by thousands of students at campus, Rwasampijja scooped 285 votes with 216 males and 69 females while his only counterpart, Gyagenda Abdu Swamadu had 276 votes with 219 males and 57 females amounting to a range of only nine votes. Just a handful of students were seen celebrate the new development.
Only 12% of the electorate turned up for the voting process; the total of voters was 561 students. Students were doing so in protest against the unfair (as they call it) dismissal of the previous guild who was stripped off his post for altering academic documents. They wanted him pardoned since he was the choice of the majority. The master of ceremony was wailing all day calling the students who were minding their business at respective hostel rooms to participate in the elections in vain.
One law student when asked why he had not headed for the elections replied, “The administration has killed democracy by trying to have influence in the kind of person that they think can handle executive posts and this is the only way we can express our dissatisfaction with their policies.” While another says, he abstained because of the fact that the candidates were members of the Dawa Secretariat, a university spy network that ensures that students live within the Islamic code of conduct.
The chairperson electoral committee too blamed the low voter turn up on the disappointment of the supporters of the impeached former guild president. Abdu khalim Rwasampijja hopes to unite the various cultural groups in the campus. Swearing in is scheduled for Thursday after which the new guild will be expected to appoint his cabinet while elections for speaker are scheduled for 14th April 14, 2014.
