EC nominates NUP's Vuni for Aringa South race after successful petition

ARINGA - Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red necktie, Vito Vuni, an aspiring candidate for the Aringa South constituency in Yumbe under the National Unity Platform (NUP), arrived at the Electoral Commission office in Yumbe on November 24, 2025.

Accompanied by the district NUP general secretary, Nadia Yusuf, and three other party members, the cheerful Vuni had not come for a courtesy visit but to be nominated to contest for the Aringa South parliamentary seat.

He had earlier been denied nomination on October 23, 2025, over allegations that he failed to present the required academic transcripts (UCE and UACE).

It had been alleged that Vuni presented letters from the Uganda National Examinations Board introducing him to his former headteachers at Ombatini Secondary School and Muni Girls Secondary School, where he claimed to have completed O’level and A’level respectively.

However, Vuni secured a breakthrough after filing a petition to the Electoral Commission chairperson in Kampala on October 23, 2025.

The petition was heard on November 3, 2025, and after determining the matter, the EC headquarters cleared him for nomination on November 23, 2025.

“It's true that I didn't have enough of my documents, but before the close of the business on October 23, 2025, I received the soft copies of the transcripts, which were rejected by the returning officer and insisted he wanted the official hard copies,” said Vuni.

“With the help of NUP lawyers, I thank God that I was finally cleared to be nominated, though after a long struggle,” he said.

The copies of the original transcripts, which Vuni obtained from UNEB on October 23, 2025, and which New Vision accessed, indicate that he completed O’level in 1993 at Ombatini SS under Index U0092/080, and A’level at Muni Girls SS in 1996 under Index U0420/590.

After thoroughly checking the academic and other required documents, the Yumbe district returning officer, Benson Obeti, proceeded to nominate Vuni.

Vuni’s nomination raises the number of candidates in the Aringa South parliamentary race to four.

The contest previously had three candidates: the incumbent Alioni Yorke Odria on the NRM ticket, Musema Mudashir Bruce as an independent, and Patrick Habib Munduga on the JEEMA ticket.

Vuni praised the Electoral Commission for being neutral, fair and considerate to all candidates. He said that his nomination marks the beginning of his journey to Parliament.

“My journey to Parliament has started today, and this has been demonstrated by the victory,” said Vuni.

He pledged to consult voters and prioritise service delivery.

“Many of the villages in the constituency have no clean water sources, schools are still far, and health centres have no medicines. That is why I never slept and wanted to see myself nominated to go to parliament to address the issues,” he said.

NUP district general secretary, Nadia Yusuf, described Vuni’s nomination as a significant victory.

According to Obeti the returning officer, Vuni’s campaign programme is to be harmonised on Tuesday (November 25) before he begins campaigning immediately.