Moment of truth for govt Chief Whip Obua as Ajuri County residents rechoose MP

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The stakes couldn't be higher for Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua and NRM flag-bearer as Ajuri County residents head to the polls in a crucial re-run election that could determine his political future.

With tensions running high and security forces deployed across the district, the Thursday, January 27, 2026, vote represents a decisive moment for the incumbent National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislator who faces a formidable challenge from Uganda People's Congress (UPC) flag-bearer Fred Jalameso.

Most polling stations in Awei sub-county have recorded a high voter turnout as Ajuri county conducts its re-run election following the inconclusive poll on January 15, 2026, when results were not declared due to discrepancies in results from one polling station in Abako sub-county and 17 polling stations in Awei sub-county.

The Electoral Commission subsequently scheduled this repeat election for the affected areas.

As polling commenced, New Vision Online observed significant voter engagement across multiple polling stations.

At Awei trading centre/Onyaomia polling station, over 150 voters had already lined up for voting by 9:30am out of the 485 registered voters. Similarly, Amukaola A and B Polling Stations in Owalo Parish, Awei sub-county, saw over 70 voters cast their ballots by 9:00am.

The trend continued at other locations, with Abako Corner Polling station in Ojul parish registering over 200 voters by 10:00am. At Apami Primary School Polling station, 108 voters had cast their votes by 10:13am out of 473 registered voters, according to presiding officer Moses Ocwic.

Alebtong district returning officer Jessica Adongo Ocen attributed the high voter turnout to effective voter sensitisation efforts throughout the district.

Heavy security deployment

Security forces have established a heavy presence across the electoral landscape, with personnel deployed on foot, motorcycles and patrol vehicles along major roads and junctions.

"We arrested some people with pangas and someone with clubs that he claimed he was going to use in his gardens, but as security, we are not taking anything for granted," Alebtong Resident District Commissioner Geoffrey Okiswa said.

UPC president Jimmy Akena, who is also overseeing the election, said, "I am here to ensure that there is no mistake in this re-run. I have been escorting voting materials from the EC stores. We are following the boxes, and we shall follow the ballots, and we are going to follow up to its logical conclusion."

The re-run affects 18 polling stations where election materials and results were reportedly compromised during the initial voting exercise following a petition filed by UPC's Jalameso, who challenged the provisional results that had placed Obua in the lead.

Jalameso claims that from the 160 polling stations whose results had been tallied, he obtained 14,331 votes compared to Obua's 12,963 votes. With Ajuri County having a total of 178 polling stations, the contested results from the remaining 18 stations could determine the winner.

The five candidates competing in this race are Obua, Jalameso, Emmanuel Ongom Okwel of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), and independent candidates Stephen Omara and Tom Jasper Molo.