Gogogonyo By-election: Voter Challenges Orone’s Academic Documents

A voter in Gogonyo County in Pallisa District has petitioned the Electoral Commission for erroneously nominating Derick Orone for the Gogonyo County parliamentary by-election.

In a letter dated August 8 addressed to the Electoral Commission, Ausi Njaye Bantalib was Orone dominated as a candidate for allegedly failing to present the minimum academic documents of Senior Six or its equivalent during nominations.

Through his lawyers of Zahura and Company Advocates, Njaye says that the nomination of Orone violated the electoral laws and is therefore unlawful adding that after his nomination, they assessed the documents of the candidate and found out that he was nominated on a mere letter from the Uganda National Examinations Board-UNEB instead of the required Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education or its equivalent.

“The irregularity/illegal nomination of the above candidate is based on the fact that Article 80(1) (C) of the constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 and section 4(1)(c) of the Parliamentary act 2005 were glaringly offended as the said candidate was nominated based on the purported letter of verification of results form from Uganda Examinations Board” the petition reads in part.   

Bantalib says that the Electoral Commission should have conducted due diligence on the academic documents of all candidates before nominations. He wondered how an aspirant without academic credentials could be allowed to participate in the election. 

But the Electoral Commission Returning Officer for Pallisa District Daniel Othieno says that all candidates had the required credentials for nomination.

Orone has dismissed the allegations saying that his opponent Isa Taligoola is using all actions to fail his bid of winning the by-election.

 //Cue in: “Went to court yesterday…  

 Cue out:….somebody is a coward”//