Vote recount appeal against Workers' MP elect dismissed

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The Makindye Chief Magistrates’ Court has dismissed with costs an application filed by Abwoli Agnes Kunihira against Fiona Nakku over the election of Female Workers’ Representative to Parliament.

Seeking a recount of votes cast, Kunihira sued Nakku alongside the Electoral Commission, which was also named as a respondent in the matter. 

In its ruling, the court found no sufficient grounds to warrant a recount and consequently dismissed the application, ordering Kunihira to meet the costs of the suit.

Nakku and Kunihira, together with Abu Victoria Abigail Atukunda, Phina Mugerwa and Hannah Anita Mwesigwa had contested in the Parliamentary Election for the Female Workers’ Representative to Parliament, which was held on January 19, 2026.

Nakku was declared the winner with 290 votes, while Kunihira garnered 287 votes. Atukunda secured 28 votes, while Mwesigwa garnered 10 votes, and Mugerwa received one vote.

Dissatisfied with the election outcome, Kunihira filed the application seeking orders that a recount of the votes be conducted and that the Electoral Commission produce before court all electoral materials used in the election, including but not limited to ballot papers, ballot books, tally sheets and declaration forms, among others.

Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu ruled that the security for costs paid into court shall be paid to the respondents. If the security for costs is insufficient to cover the respondents’ costs after taxation, the balance shall be paid by the applicant.

“I am in agreement with the submission of counsel for Nakku that the ballot box and its contents were not secured. This submission was supported by counsel for EC, who submitted that, following the incidents that unfolded after the commotion began, particularly after 10:00 p.m, when the results were announced, he believed that the integrity of the materials in the box had been compromised,” the magistrate noted.

She further noted that the box and the contents therein, which the applicant seeks to be brought to court, were hence proved to have been tampered with, and both parties confirm that the integrity of the contents in the box was compromised during the commotion that arose after the announcement of the winner.

“From the above findings, I am unable to trust the integrity of the ballot box and its contents, as both parties agree that the box and the ballot papers therein were tampered with during the commotion. Ordering a recount in the circumstances would be to make a redundant order that serves no purpose as the recount cannot achieve the purpose envisaged by Section 74 of the Parliamentary Elections Act,” Kamasanyu ruled.

The magistrate found that there were no numerical questions proved before court to untangle, and there was no good reason proved for the grant of this application.