Court locks Bukomansimbi EC offices
May 29, 2011
THE High Court in Masaka has locked the offices of the Bukomansimbi district Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure safe custody of ballot boxes used in the constituency’s last parliamentary election.
By DISMUS BUREGYEYA
THE High Court in Masaka has locked the offices of the Bukomansimbi district Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure safe custody of ballot boxes used in the constituency’s last parliamentary election.
Justice Owiny Dollo said the offices will only be re-opened after an application by Iddi Lubyayi to have a vote recount, has been heard.
Lubyayi, who contested for the Bukomansimbi constituency parliamentary seat on the NRM ticket, lost to Deogratius Kiyingi with a difference of 445 votes.
Lubyayi said his votes totaling 1,692 were wrongly rendered invalid.
Lubyayi filed a fresh application seeking a recount of the invalid votes after the initial application flopped after the discovery of 12 boxes whose seals had been broken during the process of delivering them to court in Masaka.
The district returning officer, Anna Ahabwe, told court that the seals were broken during transit from Bukomansimbi to Masaka due to the sorry state of the road.
Ahabwe added that the ballot boxes have since been kept in safe custody at EC’s offices in Bukomansimbi.
Justice Dolo ordered court to place locks on the offices to avoid tampering with the material.
However, Kiyingi, through his lawyers, opposes the vote recount, saying there was no basis for the application since Lubyayi’s polling agents had not complained about any anomaly.
But Lubyayi said he became suspicious of vote rigging after he recovered over 100 votes which had been rendered invalid at Nakusi polling station.
“It took the intervention of the Police and other security officials for me to recover the 100 votes. Justice should prevail through a vote recount,†he said.
Justice Dolo said he will make the ruling over the matter today at the War Crime division court in Kampala.
THE High Court in Masaka has locked the offices of the Bukomansimbi district Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure safe custody of ballot boxes used in the constituency’s last parliamentary election.
Justice Owiny Dollo said the offices will only be re-opened after an application by Iddi Lubyayi to have a vote recount, has been heard.
Lubyayi, who contested for the Bukomansimbi constituency parliamentary seat on the NRM ticket, lost to Deogratius Kiyingi with a difference of 445 votes.
Lubyayi said his votes totaling 1,692 were wrongly rendered invalid.
Lubyayi filed a fresh application seeking a recount of the invalid votes after the initial application flopped after the discovery of 12 boxes whose seals had been broken during the process of delivering them to court in Masaka.
The district returning officer, Anna Ahabwe, told court that the seals were broken during transit from Bukomansimbi to Masaka due to the sorry state of the road.
Ahabwe added that the ballot boxes have since been kept in safe custody at EC’s offices in Bukomansimbi.
Justice Dolo ordered court to place locks on the offices to avoid tampering with the material.
However, Kiyingi, through his lawyers, opposes the vote recount, saying there was no basis for the application since Lubyayi’s polling agents had not complained about any anomaly.
But Lubyayi said he became suspicious of vote rigging after he recovered over 100 votes which had been rendered invalid at Nakusi polling station.
“It took the intervention of the Police and other security officials for me to recover the 100 votes. Justice should prevail through a vote recount,†he said.
Justice Dolo said he will make the ruling over the matter today at the War Crime division court in Kampala.