Overview:
The petition, registered as Miscellaneous Cause Number 06 of 2026, was filed against Mercy Kanyesigye, declared the winner, as well as the Electoral Commission and the Returning Officer, Jennifer Kyobutungi.
The Hoima Chief Magistrate’s Court has adjourned the hearing of a petition seeking a recount of votes in the National Female Youth Representative election to Tuesday, 17 February 2026.
Diana Kampe Ampaire, the flag bearer for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), filed the petition challenging the results of the election held on 6 February 2026 at Hoima City Stadium. She seeks court orders for a recount, citing alleged irregularities in the tallying process that she says affected the outcome. The petition, registered as Miscellaneous Cause Number 06 of 2026, was filed against Mercy Kanyesigye, declared the winner, as well as the Electoral Commission and the Returning Officer, Jennifer Kyobutungi.
Ampaire was one of four candidates contesting the election. Kanyesigye, running as an independent, received 216 votes, while Ampaire trailed with 198 votes, leaving an 18-vote margin.
Julia Muhumuza, another independent candidate, came third with 24 votes, while Edith Namande Nakayiza of the National Unity Platform (NUP) received one vote. In her application, Ampaire invokes Sections 74 and 77 of the Parliamentary Elections Act and the Civil Procedure Rules, arguing that the declared results do not reflect the true outcome of the election.
Through an affidavit sworn in Kampala by her lawyers from Factum Advocates, Ampaire claims that several votes cast in her favour were wrongly recorded as votes for Kanyesigye. She further alleges that the presiding officer, identified as Ivan Munanura, conducted the count in a manner that misallocated her votes and that the result recorded on the Declaration of Result form does not reflect the actual votes cast.
Ampaire argues that a recount is necessary to establish the correct outcome. During the counting process, Ampaire, together with her polling agents Sharon Aketowanga and Collins Turyahebwa, reportedly raised complaints which she says were ignored by election officials.
She claims that her formal requests for a recount before the official declaration were denied, and that the Returning Officer also refused to acknowledge receipt of her written complaint.
After the declaration, Ampaire wrote to the Electoral Commission and the Returning Officer requesting certified copies of the Declaration of Results Form and the Return Form for Transmission of Results, which she says have not been provided. The petition now asks the court to order a recount of all votes cast, supervise the exercise, issue a certificate of vote recount, and award costs of the application. Ampaire has furnished security for costs as required by law, asserting that a recount is necessary in the interest of justice and fairness to ensure the electorate is represented by their rightful choice. Kunihira told the court that he had heard submissions from Kanyesigye, the Electoral Commission, and Ampaire, but needed more time to peruse the documents before issuing a ruling.
Kunihira informed the court that he had listened to Kanyesigye’s submissions, the Electoral Commission, and Ampaire, and that he needed more time to peruse through their documents and come up with a final ruling on the filed application on Tuesday next week at exactly 9 a.m.
Speaking in an Interview with Uganda Radio Network (URN) at the Court after the matter was adjourned, Asuman Basalirwa, one of the lawyers representing Kanyesigye, says they are optimistic that justice will prevail in their favor, adding that they have furnished the court with enough evidence justifying that their client genuinely won the elections.
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