Court upholds Nameere’s election despite recount irregularities

The Masaka High court has upheld the election of State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere Nsubuga as Masaka City Woman MP, dismissing a petition by National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Rose Nalubowa.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Bernard Namanya, the court ruled that although there were irregularities in the recount of votes, Nalubowa had failed to prove that they substantially affected the election results.

“In conclusion, although the recount was conducted in non-compliance with the electoral law after the integrity of several electoral materials had been compromised, the petitioner, Nalubowa Rose did not prove that the figures certified by the Chief Magistrate were erroneous,” reads the judgment in part.

Nameere, who contested on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, was declared the winner after a recount ordered by Masaka Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe overturned the Electoral Commission’s initial declaration of Nalubowa as the winner of the January 15 election.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, Nalubowa petitioned the High court, challenging the magistrate’s decision and Nameere’s subsequent declaration. She accused the magistrate of abusing his powers and conducting the recount in violation of electoral laws.

In her petition, filed through lawyer Samuel Mulindwa Muyizi, Nalubowa argued that the magistrate ordered the recount outside the statutory 14-day period following the declaration of results.

She also argued that the magistrate disregarded applicable legal principles by proceeding with the recount despite finding that several ballot boxes had been tampered with while in the Electoral Commission’s stores.

Justice Namanya noted that the chief magistrate had presented a certified record of the recount proceedings showing that results from nine polling stations were excluded after their election materials were found to have been tampered with.

The court established that the affected polling stations had a combined total of 3,886 registered voters, of whom 1,353 voted for either Nameere or Nalubowa.

“Even if those excluded (1,353 votes) were added to Nalubowa Rose’s tally, her total would rise to 24,529 votes, leaving Nameere Justine ahead by 973 votes. The exclusion of the 1,353 actual votes therefore did not affect the election results in a substantial manner,” the judgment reads in part.

Before the recount, the Electoral Commission had declared Nalubowa the winner with 25,443 votes against Nameere’s 20,324. However, following the recount, Nalubowa’s tally fell to 23,176 votes, while Nameere’s rose to 25,502.

Justice Namanya agreed with Nalubowa that the recount had not fully complied with electoral laws but emphasised that irregularities alone were insufficient to overturn an election unless they substantially affected the outcome.

“Under this test, proving that there was non-compliance with the electoral laws is not sufficient to overturn the election. The petitioner must further demonstrate that the non-compliance was severe enough to affect the results,” the judge ruled.

The court consequently dismissed Nalubowa’s petition and ordered her to pay Nameere’s legal costs.

Speaking after the ruling, Nalubowa said she would meet her legal team to determine the way forward, arguing that the judgment contained glaring loopholes.

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