The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Terego, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Election Disputes Tribunal has nullified the declaration of Moses Angundru as the party’s flag bearer for Terego West Constituency, Terego District, following a heated petition process that exposed massive electoral irregularities — including the allocation of 320 extra votes in one village and the omission of results from 12 villages.
In its ruling delivered on Tuesday, the Panel headed by Lawyer Anthony Bazira, with Lawyers Isaac Okurut and Joseph Lobalang as members, instead declared Dramviru Eric Sabiiti as the duly elected candidate. The Tribunal’s findings revealed that the Registrar’s refusal to tally a substantial number of votes “went to the root of the electoral exercise and substantially affected the outcome of the election.”
“It is the Tribunal’s finding that the Registrar’s refusal to tally a substantial number of votes, went to the root of the electoral exercise and substantially affected the outcome of the election. This is because the number of excluded votes show that a person other than the Respondent won the election. As we have stated above, this refusal to tally the votes disenfranchised the omitted voters. Accordingly, it is the Tribunal’s finding that these irregularities substantially affected the result of the election,” reads the decision.
The decision follows the consolidation of two petitions lodged by Allen Kizito and Dramviru Eric Sabiiti, both of whom contested in the July 17th primaries and challenged the validity of the results citing vote tallying errors, disenfranchisement, and irregular conduct by polling officials.
The disputed primary election had initially shown Angundru declared winner with 3,150 votes, while Kizito and Sabiiti were announced as runners-up with 2,574 and 2,382 votes respectively. However, evidence presented by the petitioners showed arithmetic discrepancies in the tallying of votes, particularly in Abindi village, where Angundru was allocated 325 votes in the final tally instead of the 5 votes recorded on the official declaration form.
The petitioners also demonstrated that votes from twelve villages across Ayuri parish, Onai parish, and Oduruni ward had been completely omitted from the final results. The uncontested evidence adduced by Kizito supported a finding that the tallying error in Abindi gave Angundru an additional 320 votes beyond what he garnered there.
During the proceedings, Kizito and Sabiiti presented affidavits, declaration of results forms, and tally sheets as evidence. The submissions were not effectively rebutted by the respondent, whose legal team did not contest the authenticity of the documents or the fact that a significant number of votes were excluded. Instead, the defense argued that any irregularities were the responsibility of the NRM Electoral Commission and that the overall outcome remained unchanged.
The Tribunal, chaired by John Musiime with members Bazira Anthony, Okurut Isaac, and Lobalang Joseph, found that the allegations of irregularities were substantiated and materially affected the outcome of the election. After conducting its own re-tally based on the original declaration forms, the Tribunal established that Sabiiti had, in fact, garnered the highest number of valid votes. The reconstituted results placed Sabiiti in the lead with 4,037 votes, followed by Angundru with 2,816 and Kizito with 2,786. Other candidates — Anguzu Abdulkadir, Animu Angupale, and Leku Joel — received 2,080, 2,396, and 1,865 votes respectively. “It is the Tribunal’s finding… Based on the Tribunal’s retabulating of the votes polled in the NRM primaries for Terego West Member of Parliament, we find DRAMVIRU ERIC SABIITI the overall winner of the primaries and as such entitled to be declared the duly elected Flag Bearer,” reads the decision. The Tribunal has issued a formal order setting aside the earlier declaration of Moses Angundru and certifying Sabiiti as the NRM flag bearer for the Terego West parliamentary seat in the 2026 general elections. The Tribunal Chairperson, John Musiime, has also appended his signature and seal to confirm Sabiiti’s nomination. By the time of publishing this story, Uganda Radio Network could not reach any of the parties for a comment on the decision.
Meanwhile, the Tribunal has today started hearing Local Government and LC5 Councillor petitions as the second phase of the ongoing electoral dispute process. According to NRM Legal Affairs Director Enoch Barata, the hearings are progressing smoothly and are expected to conclude by Friday unless otherwise.
Barata also confirmed that the tribunal has today released 61 rulings from 61 petitions arising from the NRM parliamentary primaries held last month. “All communication is being made through email addresses and phone numbers submitted by petitioners and their lawyers during the hearings,” he explained, addressing complaints about undelivered decisions.
****
URN
