The Electoral Commission has filed its response in the presidential petition case filed by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, best known as Bobi Wine, filed on Monday contesting the January 14 reelection of President Yoweri Museveni.
The response is being filed through the law firms of Kampala Associated advocates and Okello Oryem Advocates. The EC says it conducted the election in accordance with the law and that if there were any irregularities, they did not affect the result in any substantial manner.
Wine’s lawyers said they want the court to nullify the election but also ensure Museveni, who won a sixth term in office, can never run again.
Bobi Wine’s lead lawyer Medard Segona said solders were seen invading polling stations and stuffing pre-ticked ballots into ballot boxes to inflate Museveni’s vote totals.
Official election results showed Museveni winning a sixth term with 58% of the votes. Wine came in second with 35%.
Segona said Wine’s National Unity Platform party encountered challenges at every step of the election process, including the beating of Wine’s supporters and campaign officials.
The challenges continued into their efforts to file the petition.
This will be the fourth time that Museveni’s election has been challenged in court. Kiiza Besigye contested Museveni’s election after the 2001 and 2006 elections. Former prime minister Amama Mbabazi challenged the 2016 election results.
The two former friends of Museveni both lost, with the court ruling that even though there were several irregularities, they were not substantial enough to nullify the election.
