The High Court sitting in Patongo Town Council, Agago District, has set November 5 as the date for delivering its judgment in the election petition against Christopher Komakech's victory in the Aruu County parliamentary elections. This follows the completion of the hearing of the petition by Justice Fatuma Nanziri Bwanika. The petition was filed by Samuel Odonga-Otto, a former Aruu County MP, who contested Komakech's win, citing alleged irregularities at several polling stations.
Komakech, who ran on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, was declared the winner by the Electoral Commission with 10,455 votes, defeating Odonga-Otto by just 26 votes. Odonga-Otto rejected the result and petitioned the High Court, citing irregularities at several polling stations and challenging the handling of election materials. The petition followed an unsuccessful attempt by Odonga-Otto to have the votes recounted at the Pader Chief Magistrate's Court.
The recount dispute centered on the condition of ballot boxes inspected during earlier proceedings, with several found to have broken, loose, or improperly secured seals. The affected polling stations included Acholi Pit, Kilak, Bus Park, Adongkena, Lwala, and Kinene. Odonga-Otto argued that the condition of the ballot boxes should not have prevented the contents from being examined against the declared results, particularly given the narrow 26-vote margin.
Odonga-Otto also challenged the number of votes declared invalid in the parliamentary election, saying 175 votes cast in his favor were wrongly rejected, largely due to alleged failures of the Biometric Voter Verification Machines. He further questioned why 407 parliamentary ballots were declared invalid while only 46 votes were rejected in the Woman MP race conducted on the same day.
The Pader District Returning Officer, Eric Gimei, appeared before the High Court through Zoom and was cross-examined after the parties agreed to the arrangement. Gimei confirmed that he declared the results and acknowledged that the ballot boxes remained in his custody despite reports that some seals had been tampered with. He had earlier admitted that there were procedural gaps and apologized, while maintaining that the final results had been correctly tallied.
Both candidates attended Monday's proceedings, with Komakech represented by a legal team led by Alex Musisi of Kania & Alli Advocates and Solicitors, while Odonga-Otto was represented by counsel Paul Layoo Julius. The High Court will now consider the parties' final written submissions before returning on November 5 at 9 a.m. to deliver its judgment.
The outcome of the judgment will determine the fate of the Aruu County parliamentary seat, which has been a subject of dispute between Komakech and Odonga-Otto. The case has garnered significant attention, with both candidates expressing confidence in their victory. Key points in the case include the condition of the ballot boxes, the handling of election materials, and the legitimacy of the election results.
Key points
- The High Court will deliver its judgment on November 5 in the election petition challenging Christopher Komakech's victory in the Aruu County parliamentary elections.
- The petition was filed by Samuel Odonga-Otto, who cited alleged irregularities at several polling stations and challenged the handling of election materials.
- The dispute centered on the condition of ballot boxes and the legitimacy of the election results, with Komakech winning by a narrow margin of 26 votes.
