Tuesday 17 March 2009

Robert Okware wins Makerere Guild race




By Mubatsi Asinja Habati

Democratic Party candidate has emerged as Makerere University’s guild president for the 2009/2010 academic year replacing Robert Rutaro of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Okware trounced six other contestants in a hotly contested race pulling 6,129 votes. He was closely followed by NRM’s Castro Kissule who got 3065 votes while independent candidate, Husnah Natukunda, came third with 1090 votes. Forum for Democratic Change candidate, Samuel Ariho, trailed in the fourth position.

According to the guild electoral commission, the voter turn up was quite higher than that of the previous guild elections. Out the university population of over 30,000 students, less than15,000 students turned out to vote compared to last year’s voter turnout which was less than 10,000.

The victory of Okware maintains DP’s grip on the top students’ leadership in higher institutions of learning in the country. It also reflects NRM’s failure to constantly hold its appeal among the young intellectuals in institutions of learning.

Students who have in the past taken up the students’ guild leadership have later emerged as great leaders in the national politics, for example, Nobert Mao, the current Gulu district LC V chairman who is now being mooted as a possible DP presidential candidate, once headed the students’ guild.

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