Otuko Apio was declared the winner of the by- elections from Oyam District headquarters by the Oyam district returning officer Richard Onoba. She garnered 15,718 representing 49.12 per- cent of the total votes cast defeating her closest rival Samuel Engola Okello of National Resistance Movement (NRM) who got 15,161 votes representing 47.38%.
Walter Waco, the Presiding officer at Wanglobo Primary School told his supervisor that the gangsters came in a police patrol vehicle and demanded for five booklets which they took, each containing names of 50 voters ticked and brought them back to the box.
Speaking at the last campaign rally in Iceme Town Council on Tuesday, Museveni praised the late Engola for his leadership, promotion of peace, and dedication to development. He emphasized the need for a vibrant leader like Engola in Oyam North.
Four other aspirants who picked the nomination forms including Queen Dorothy Amolo and Willy Omodo Kagere, both independent NRM-leaning, Peter Emuna, an independent, and Ishaa Otto Amiza, the former Oyam South MP didn’t show up for the nominations.
During a media briefing at the end of the first day of nominations on Monday, Paul Bukenya, the EC Spokesperson, cautioned the candidates against engaging in campaigns before coordinating their activities with the EC, as such actions often lead to chaos and disruptions.
Betty Aol Ochan, the Gulu City Woman MP and former Leader of Opposition in the 10th Parliament emphasized the importance of allowing Oyam North voters to freely choose their leader without any influence from security forces.
The chairperson of the NRM Electoral Commission Dr Tanga Odoi declared Engola Okello the winner with 532 votes representing 62.3 percent of the total votes cast, against his opponent Queen Dorothy Amolo who had 322 votes.
On Saturday, Odoi told journalists that the delegates that are supposed to participate in the primaries are being secluded by different candidates in hotels within Lira and Gulu City.
Willy Omodo-Omodo, one of the candidates, has called for unity among all aspirants to foster reconciliation among the people of Oyam. He emphasized that whoever is elected must prioritize the interests of the community.
Kayondo, a member of the Democratic Party-DP was declared winner of the election held in January 2021 with a tally of 26,512 votes against Male’s 4,831 votes. But Male challenged the process and its outcome saying that Kayondo was nominated on an invalid paper, and hoodwinked voters by using colors, symbols, and slogans of the National Unity Platform during his campaigns.
On Friday, Justice Acellam Collins ruled that the petition against Nantaba is not competent because it was properly supported by the request signatures of 500 registered voters in Kayunga district as required by the law.
Ahmed Nyombi Mukiibi, the Kalungu district Local Council Chairperson expresses disappointment with the new application, arguing that it is going to reawaken the unwanted political squabbles among leaders, which is likely to affect social services delivery in the area. He challenges Ssempijja to reconsider the application, indicating that the district is grappling with serious challenges that require all leaders to work together in looking for solutions from wherever they can.
In the petition, Wilson Male, a candidate for the National Unity Platform accused Kayondo of voter bribery and using the National Unity Platform-NUP symbol and slogans on his campaign posters despite contesting a Democratic Party candidate in the January 2021 polls. Male says that this act did not only confuse voters but also affected the outcome of the polls.
One of the petitioner's lawyers, Gregory Byamukama asked Nantaba whether as the former ICT minister she was aware that one can use electronic ways to verify voter identification numbers on the EC website, but Nantaba denied saying such technology does not exist. Nantaba told court she was an ICT state minister from 2016-2020.
Nantaba, an independent candidate garnered 47,725 votes to defeat six other candidates; Jackline Birungi Kobusingye, Margaret Nabirye, Nakaddu Brenda, Harriet Nakweede, Agatha Nalubwama and Lydia Wabuza in the race. Her closest challenger Harriet Nakweede had 37,117 votes.
In his petition, Male accuses Kayondo, who ran on the Democratic Party ticket of voter bribery and using the National Unity Platform-NUP symbol and slogans on his campaign posters in the January 2021 polls.
