Three Court of Appeal judges led by Justice Steven Kavuma has held that the nullification of ruling party NRM’s Ms Annet Nyakecho’s election as Tororo North MP was unjustified.
The ruling passed Monday meant Mr Geoffrey Ekanya of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change party who had challenged her victory has to wait for 2021 to stand again as MP or file another application.
Ms Nyakecho polled 8,911 votes against Mr Ekanya’s 8,822 votes in last February’s general elections.
“There was no justifiable reason for Justice Patricia Basaza to cancel Ms Nyakecho’s victory since the non-concluded results in the two contentious polling stations; Missionary of Hope Church and Kagoya did not affect the final election result in a substantial manner as Mr Ekanya had alleged,” observed the judges in a verdict read out by the court’s deputy registrar Mr Deo Nizeyimana, Daily Monitor said.
The judges noted that the results from the two contested polling stations could not be included in the final tally because the filling and signing of Results Declaration return forms could not be concluded in time by the presiding officers yet the ballot boxes containing the cast votes were also not sealed as they were being transported to the sub-county collection centre.
