The High Court in Fort Portal has set November 9 to deliver its ruling in an election petition challenging the victory of Bundibugyo District Woman Member of Parliament Josephine Babungi Bebona.
The petition was filed by independent candidate Donna Kamuli Kapalaya, who is challenging the results of the January 15 general elections in which Bebona, who contested on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, was declared the winner.
Lady Justice Joanita Gertrude Bushara set the ruling date for Monday after hearing submissions from the petitioner and the respondents over discrepancies in the election results.
Kapalaya argues that figures on the declaration of results forms contradict those recorded on the Electoral Commission’s tally sheet and published in the Uganda Gazette.
According to the results on the declaration of results forms by the district’s returning officer, Bebona obtained 32,829 votes against Kapalaya’s 32,423 votes.
Through her lawyer Martin Masereka, Kapalaya told the court that the discrepancies in the results raised serious concerns about the accuracy of the final tally and warranted judicial intervention.
The court heard that two tally sheets, one dated January 19 and another dated February 6, contained different results, prompting questions about how the Electoral Commission arrived at the final figures.
According to the petitioner, the first tally sheet indicated that Bebona had obtained 32169 votes while the second one indicated that she had obtained 32829 votes.
However, Esau Isingoma, the lawyer representing Bebona, told the court that the discrepancies in the January 19 tally sheet could have resulted from errors by Electoral Commission officials who were fatigued after tallying results for four electoral contests.
He explained that officials were handling results for the presidential election, the district woman MP race and parliamentary elections for the two counties in Bundibugyo District.
Isingoma said the errors were subsequently corrected when the Electoral Commission issued another tally sheet on February 6, which he said matched the figures on the declaration of results forms.
During cross-examination by the petitioner’s lawyer, Bebona maintained that the declaration of results forms contained the correct figures and reflected her victory.
The Electoral Commission, which is the second respondent in the petition, was represented by lawyers led by Edwin Tabaro, who told the court that the commission’s response to the disputed results was contained in affidavits filed before the court.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network after the hearing, Kapalaya insisted that the election results were affected by alleged falsification, forged signatures and what she described as systematic manipulation of votes.
She alleged that 20 votes were added to Bebona’s tally at more than 69 polling stations and questioned how the Electoral Commission could produce two tally sheets bearing different results.
Kapalaya said she had gone to court seeking justice and hoped the judge would deliver a fair ruling.
Bebona maintained that the declaration of results forms supported her victory despite the discrepancies in the tally sheets.
She acknowledged that Electoral Commission officials could have made mistakes during tallying but insisted that the figures on the declaration forms remained consistent with her victory.
Babungi expressed confidence that the court would consider the evidence and submissions from all parties before making its determination-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
