NUP’s Nakawooya fights Nakaseke poll outcome in court

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The battle for the Nakaseke district woman Member of Parliament seat has taken a legal turn after the loser in the January 15 elections petitioned the High Court seeking to nullify the victory of her NRM rival, Sarah Najjuma.

Esther Nakawooya, the NUP flag bearer in the two-candidate race for the Nakaseke Woman MP seat, is challenging Najjuma’s victory, contending that the January 15 voting was marred by numerous irregularities.

According to official results issued by the Electoral Commission, Nakawooya garnered 27,156 votes, losing the election to the incumbent Najjuma, who received 56,156 votes.

However, Nakawooya disputes the outcome and wants the High Court to set aside her NRM rival’s January 15 victory over alleged election malpractices.

In a petition filed through her lawyers on March 12, 2026, Nakawooya alleges that election malpractices occurred at 98 out of the 328 polling stations in the district.

Nakawooya, who has now lost the seat to Najjuma for the second time since 2021, said over the weekend that she decided to take the legal route in order to defend the integrity of the Ugandan electoral process.

She first lost the Nakaseke Woman MP race to Najjuma during the 2021 elections when she stood on a Democratic Party ticket.

According to the January 15 results announced by Nakaseke District Returning Officer Aida Tusiime, Najjuma was declared the winner with 55,455 votes, while Nakawooya polled 26,873 votes.

However, Nakawooya claims that the Electoral Commission later issued another return form on January 18, 2026, containing different figures indicating that Najjuma received 56,151 votes while she obtained 27,156 votes.

The latter results were subsequently published in the Uganda Gazette on February 6, 2026.

She said that the Electoral Commission’s decision to issue two separate return forms raises serious concerns about the credibility of the final tally.

Among the complaints listed in her petition, Nakawooya says that the number of voters at several polling stations exceeded the number of registered voters.

She also contends that in some cases the figures on declaration forms were altered in favour of her NRM rival.

She further claims that some polling stations registered voter turnouts close to 100 percent, yet some of the names on the voters’ registers belonged to deceased individuals.

“In some polling stations we found names of people who passed away appearing on the voters’ register and being counted among those who voted, which raises serious concerns about the integrity of the register,” she said.

Nakawooya also alleges that the votes she obtained at several polling stations were either drastically reduced or recorded as zero during tallying.

Among the polling stations listed in the petition are Lumpewe Primary School, Lukese Modern, Timuna/Kafene, Kibose Primary School, Kyasampanga Town Council and Magoma RC Primary School.

Nakawooya argues that the alleged irregularities undermined the credibility of the entire election and denied voters the opportunity to have their will reflected in the final outcome.

“The people of Nakaseke deserve a transparent and credible election. What we witnessed was a process that raises many unanswered questions,” she said.

In her petition, Nakawooya is asking the court to declare that Najjuma was not validly elected as the Woman Member of Parliament for Nakaseke district and that electoral offences were committed during the election.