Kampala, Uganda | The High Court in Kampala has annulled the election of Luyimbazi Elias Nalukoola as Member of Parliament for Kawempe Division North, citing serious irregularities and a personal election offence committed on polling day.
In a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Bernard Namanya, the court ruled that over 16,000 voters were unlawfully disenfranchised when the Electoral Commission failed to transmit results from 14 polling stations, following post-vote violence. This failure, the court held, constituted a substantial violation of the Parliamentary Elections Act and compromised the outcome of the election.
The seat now stands vacant, and the court has ordered the Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh by-election for the constituency. According to the court records, although voting occurred peacefully at the affected stations, chaos erupted during the counting process, leading to the destruction of electoral materials and the failure to declare results.
The Electoral Commission admitted that it did not take the legally required steps, such as adjourning the vote count or preserving the ballot boxes, thereby violating voter rights enshrined in Article 59 of the Constitution.
“…This court finds that the disenfranchisement of 16,640 voters, out of a total turnout of only 28,659, substantially affected the results and cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of the declared winner…,” ruled Justice Namanya.
The court further found that Luyimbazi Elias Nalukoola personally campaigned on election day, in contravention of Section 100 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which expressly prohibits canvassing on polling day. Witnesses testified that Nalukoola’s actions disrupted polling at key stations, and his denials were deemed inadequate by the court.
The combination of a constitutional rights violation, non-compliance with electoral procedures, and a proven election offence formed the legal basis for the court’s decision to overturn the results.
The petitioner, Nambi Faridah Kigongo, who came second in the race, welcomed the judgment as a victory for democracy and voter rights. She had initially trailed Nalukoola by 8,881 votes, but the court concluded that the excluded votes could have significantly narrowed the margin or changed the outcome entirely.
A by-election for Kawempe North is now expected to be scheduled by the Electoral Commission in the coming weeks.