Candidates vying for the Omoro County Parliamentary seat have re-adjusted their campaign schedules to favor local farmers in the area. This follows the low turn up of their supporters, on the first two days of the campaigns.
Six candidates were nominated for the by-election but the majority faced hurdles mobilizing their supporters in the morning hours to attend their rallies.
On Monday, the National Resistance Movement Flag bearer Andrew Ojok Oulanyah had to spend close to half an hour waiting for residents to convene for his maiden rally in Te-olam Village in Odek Sub-county.
Ojok acknowledged to Uganda Radio Network-URN in an interview that the current farming season has affected the turn-up of supporters but noted that it was only on the first day. He lauded his supporters for the sacrifice they are making amidst their busy schedules to attend the rallies.
Rosemary Seninde, the National Resistance Movement-NRM Director for Mobilization, Training, and Cadre Development says they have had to shift their campaign programs from morning to the afternoon to favor the farmers.
Seninde says with the limited time left to the by-election, they are currently holding up to five rallies every day yet they all start in the afternoon.
Justine Odong, the Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party candidate says they have equally re-adjusted their campaigns schedules from morning to midday when the farmers have finished attending to their gardens.
Odong says with just a few days left to the elevation, campaigning only in the afternoon will greatly have a negative impact on their campaign coverage.
Simon Toolit Akecha, the National Unity Platform-NUP flag bearer says unlike when they tried to campaign in the morning on the first day, they have had to reschedule their campaigns in the afternoon to allow farmers to concentrate in their gardens.
Akecha says he supports agriculture, particularly the production of cash crops and notes that he has already secured a contract that will see him buying soya beans from farmers in Omoro district at 3,500 shillings per kilogram.
Other candidates in the Omoro County Parliamentary race are Oscar Kizza, the Alliance for National Transformation-ANT flab bearer, Terrence Odonga, and Jimmy Walter Onen all on independent tickets.
The campaigns are expected to end on May 24 with the by-election scheduled for May 26 according to the Electoral Commission road map.
Omoro County Parliamentary seat fell vacant on May 20 following the death of a former member of Parliament and Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah from Seattle in the United States of America-USA.
