NRM tribunal backs Twalla in Tingye after primaries results petition

KAPCHORWA - The NRM Elections Disputes Tribunal has officially upheld the victory of incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Fadil Twalla as party flag-bearer for Kapchorwa district-based Tingey County.

The verdict issued by the tribunal also dismissed all petitions challenging Twalla's second victory in the ruling party primaries.

Tingye in numbers

Twalla was first declared the winner of the overturned vote on July 17, 2025, before clinching another victory in the re-run on July 31.

The soft-spoken legislator sealed his win in a competitive race in which he trounced Obama, Nancy Chelangat, and Mashud Chemowo.

After the well-attended voting exercise, Twalla secured 21,908 votes (60.52%), Obama came second with 13,004, Chelangat placed third, garnering 878, while Chemowo managed 408 votes.

During the tallying exercise at Kapchorwa district council hall, Obama and his campaign team threatened to petition, citing dozens of election irregularities by Twalla’s camp.

Days later, Obama, in an exclusive interview with the New Vision Online, announced that he had for the second time challenged Twalla’s victory.

“The vices we sighted in our first petition that led to the re-run vote still marred the exercise and in some areas, it only got worse,” Obama claimed.

The petitioner on both occasions was the first runner-up, Kenneth Soyekwo Obama, the former Member of Parliament for Tingey.

Although Obama’s first petition, which was based on glaring election irregularities, including voting without validating voters in the yellow book, yielded results, the second attempt did not.

The decision, delivered late Tuesday, August 19, reaffirms Twalla’s eligibility to stand in the upcoming parliamentary general election as the NRM official candidate.

Tribunal’s verdict and grounds

The petitioner claimed malpractice at several polling stations, including fake declaration forms that bore suspiciously varying signatures claimed to be from NRM electoral commission chairperson Dr Tanga Odoi.

However, according to the tribunal, none substantiated their assertions with documented or verifiable data.

The tribunal found that the petitions filed by Twalla’s opponents, led by Obama, lacked sufficient evidence to revive or overturn the primary results.

Some of those grounds included allegations of voter intimidation, voter bribery, forged declaration forms, and counting irregularities.

“We see no compelling proof that the alleged irregularities materially affected the election outcome,” the tribunal ruling stated, echoing several recent decisions upholding NRM primary winners.

In an exclusive interview with New Vision Online on Wednesday, August 20, Twalla said his opponent had “no more credible grounds to keep challenging the decision of Tingye people.”

“It is embarrassing to see one question about the popular choice of the people of Tingey county who have spoken in one strong voice on two different occasions - I’m their choice and that is very clear,” Twalla said.

Twalla, who is also the Patriotic League of Uganda co-ordinator for Sebei sub-region, urged his rivals to join him to strategise both for the better of Tingey county as well as NRM mobilisation.

The party’s verdict potentially looks set to clear the electoral dust that was still hovering over the hilly Tingey county.