The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kayunga District has dismissed two separate election petitions that sought vote recounts in the recently concluded parliamentary elections, upholding the victories of Harriet Nakwedde and Fred Baseke.
In the first case, the court dismissed a petition filed by Jackline Birungi challenging the election of Harriet Nakwedde as the District Woman Member of Parliament for Kayunga.
Nakwedde was declared the winner after polling 20,753 votes, ahead of the incumbent Idah Erios Nantaba, who garnered 16,138 votes. Birungi came third with 15,790 votes, while Margret Nabirye and Agatha Nalubwama polled 3,648 and 9,237 votes respectively.
Birungi had petitioned the court seeking a recount of votes, alleging irregularities during the tallying process. She claimed that ten ballot boxes were ignored and argued that, based on Declaration of Results (DR) forms in her possession, inclusion of those ballot boxes would have handed her victory by a margin of about ten votes.
The second petition was filed by Patrick Nsanja of the National Unity Platform (NUP), who challenged the victory of Fred Baseke of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Ntenjeru South County.
Nsanja accused Baseke of conspiring with the Electoral Commission (EC) to alter figures and fraudulently declare Baseke the winner, despite DR forms collected by his camp from polling stations allegedly placing Nsanja in the lead.
Baseke was declared the winner with 14,104 votes against Nsanja’s 13,150. Other candidates included Muzamiru Kilwana with 373 votes and Badru Mukiibi with 2,098.
During the hearing that concluded yesterday, the Electoral Commission, represented by its lawyer Edward Ssendyona, defended the declared results, insisting that the electoral process was conducted lawfully and without irregularities. Ssendyona urged the court to dismiss both petitions and reject the requests for recounts.
In separate rulings delivered today, Kayunga Chief Magistrate John Kaggwa dismissed both applications. He ruled that Birungi failed to present sufficient evidence to substantiate her claims, noting that the DR forms she relied on were not certified by the Electoral Commission.
The magistrate consequently confirmed Harriet Nakwedde as the duly elected Woman Member of Parliament for Kayunga District.
The court found that Nsanja also relied on uncertified DR forms, which could not be relied upon as credible evidence. Magistrate Kaggwa upheld Fred Baseke’s election as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Ntenjeru South County.
The magistrate ordered that both winners be gazetted and advised the petitioners that, if dissatisfied with his rulings, they were free to seek redress in higher courts of law.
Reacting to the ruling, Nakwedde expressed gratitude to God, saying justice had prevailed. She accused her challenger of repeatedly undermining the will of the people, adding that “God is above all.”
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