Masaka Chief Magistrate Abert Asiimwe has dismissed a vote recount application filed by National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Veronica Nanyondo, who challenged the victory of National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s Ruth Katusabe.
Nanyondo, the incumbent Bukomansimbi District Woman MP, alleged that her opponent was declared the winner based on falsified results. Through her legal team, led by Chrysostom Katumba, she had requested a recount of votes from seven polling stations where the January 15 election results were reportedly manipulated.
Katusabe was declared the winner of the Bukomansimbi District Woman Member of Parliament seat after polling 23,481 votes, while Nanyondo, her closest challenger, got 23,275 votes, representing a margin of 206 votes.
Katumba told court that the returning officer erroneously declared Katusabe winner because the number of votes reflected on declaration forms is different from that on the final tally sheet. “Seven polling stations had queries, our client’s votes were reduced by 100 votes, and the respondent was added 203 votes. This is not reflected in DR forms, but only on the tally sheet, which is irregular, and a vote recount can help us settle these numerical errors if granted,” he said.
Geoffrey Kandebe, a lawyer for Katusabe, however, asked the court to dismiss the application, saying that the applicant did not provide any evidence to show numerical errors reportedly done by the returning officer. He said the tally sheet, which the applicant presented, was non-verifiable because it was handwritten, and its source is unknown since the applicant had earlier told the court that she did not access the tally sheet from EC despite several pleas.
“The arguments of the respondent do not clearly show that there was numerical error, and they have failed to make a case for a recount, but instead the claims are suitable for an election petition which can be handled by the High Court. We submit, therefore, that the court should be pleased to dismiss the application,” he said.
While delivering his ruling, Asiimwe told the court that, in his view, the best way would be to compel the returning officer to add the results as per the Declaration of Results (DR) forms and to generate the tally sheet that corresponds with the DR forms filled at different polling stations.
He, however, said the role of the chief magistrate’s court in a vote recount application does not include such a jurisdiction (i.e., ordering the returning officer to add results and produce a tally sheet with corresponding results), but such jurisdiction is in a High Court, which has unlimited jurisdiction as opposed to the chief magistrate’s court.
Asiimwe said the proper way an election matter can get to the High Court is through filing an election petition. “I, therefore, find that in this very application, there is no need for a recount. The best remedy is to petition the High Court for prerogative orders because if genuinely the DR forms presented by the applicant are the ones with the Electoral Commission, they should be reflected on the tally sheet. I, therefore, find this not a proper case for vote recount. In a nutshell, this application is dismissed,” he ruled.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the session, Nanyondo said she was not satisfied with the court’s decision, stating that she will seek remedies in the High Court. “We will do a follow-up on our victory because we have the evidence of the altered DR forms, and we are sure when gazettement of new MPs is done, we can make a good case in the High Court,” she added.
Katusabe, however, welcomed the ruling, asking the applicant to accept defeat as other contestants did. “We believe everyone who contests has good plans for the constituency. We ask them to bring them to us, who have people’s mandate to ensure that people can get good service delivery,” she said.
Katusabe was in the 10th Parliament representing Bukomansimbi North Constituency but lost to NUP’s Christine Ndiwalana. This time, she chose to contest for the district woman MP seat.
