Prime
Entebbe Municipality MP loses seat
Ms Patience Mubangizi with EC lawyer Eric Sabiti after winning the election petition at high court on Wednesday. Photo by Martin Ssebuyira
Entebbe Municipality MP Mohammed Kawuma (DP) has this morning lost his seat after High Court in Kampala nullified his election on grounds that February 18 elections were not conducted in compliance with the electoral laws which subsequently affected the final results in a substantial manner.
While setting aside Kawuma’s victory, Judge Andrew Bashaija said the winner of the February 18 elections is not known after the Electoral Commission (EC) omitted to include the results of 12 polling stations in the final tally.
He said there were over 8000 voters in the omitted 12 polling stations and the difference in votes between the winner Mr Kawuma and the petitioner Ms Patience Mubangizi Tusiimire (NRM) was about 1000 votes which could have gone either way if at all they were included in the final tally.
The judgment also required the EC to conduct fresh elections in Entebbe municipality plus paying costs for the suit.
Ms Mubangizi who dragged Mr Kawuma to court contended that the EC’s non-compliance massively disenfranchised voters by failing to ascertain the actual tally in 12 out of the total of 74 polling stations in the municipality.
She was seeking a court declaration that the non-compliance with electoral laws impacted on the final result in a substantial manner.
DP’s Kawuma was declared winner by EC with 10,812 votes, while NRM’s Mubangizi was second with 8,973 votes.
More details in tomorrow’s newspaper.
Ms Mubangizi who could not hide her joy shortly after the ruling said: “ am happy that justice has finally prevailed and the sun has finally shone”
However Mr Kavuma left prematurely after sensing that he was losing the case but his lawyer Mr Ben Ikilai said he is going to talk over with his client and see if they can appeal against the judgment .
