Close to 12.30am on Wednesday morning, the Chief Magistrates Court in Hoima, a district in the western part of Uganda reaffirmed the decision of the electoral commission, declaring Ms Mercy Kanyesigye the victorious candidate in the National Female Youth MP race.
Kanyesigye won Diana Ampaire Kampe and several others, in an election held earlier this month at the just completed Hoima National Stadium.
However, Diana Ampaire Kampe lodged a complaint before the chief Magistrates Court seeking a vote recount, with allegations that Kanyesigye rigged the election.
Lawyers from both sides and that of the electoral commission argued before Hoima Chief Magistrate George Kunihira with counter accusations.
The electoral commission announced Mercy Kanyesigye Victor after garnering 216 votes against Kampe’s 198.
Upon hearing both sides, the Chief Magistrate George Kunihira ruled in favor of a vote recount for as long as the ballot boxes were not tampered with.
However, upon bringing the ballot boxes, Kanyesigye’s lawyers, led by Asuman Basalirwa argued that several ballot box seals had been tampered with, while several ballots with recorded serial numbers 8, 306, among others had been stolen.
Also seals recorded for the ballot boxes on election day had been stolen and replaced with new seals, pointing to a deliberate attempt to manufacture a new outcome of the election.
A source within the National Youth Council, told this website that Upon arrival in Hoima last Friday, a number of security operatives yet to be identified chased the young people away from the electoral area “leaving us in fear that the ballot boxes might be tampered with.”
In his ruling, the Chief Magistrate George Kunihira said, there was overwhelming evidence that the ballot boxes were tampered with and the vote recounting could not take place.
He later dismissed the exercise and asked that those who remained dissatisfied by the process can petition an appellate court and seek redress.
Both Kanyesigye and Diana Ampaire Kampe are members of the National Resistance Movement. They both engaged in the NRM primaries exercise which Kampe Ampaire won. Mercy Kanyesigye remained dissatisfied and vowed to compete in the National election which she eventually won.
Kanyesigye’s team has since been celebrating in Hoima City, with a number of them visiting bars, congratulating the MP Elect on the hard earned victory.
