EC sued over Pallisa by-election 

 

PALLISA - The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate for Pallisa district Woman MP By-election has dragged the Electoral Commission (EC) to court for illegally cancelling her nomination.

 

Catherine Achola Osupelem, Thursday filed the suit at the Civil Division of the High court through Nsubuga and Company Advocates stating that she was duly nominated by the EC in June 6, 2018 ahead of the election slated for June 28 but was later cancelled following a complaint by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

 

Achola who says she was aggrieved and affected by the decision, stressed  that EC entertained a complaint which was invariably defective as NRM is not a voter, and therefore has no locus stand to lodge any compliant.

 

According to the court documents, she contends that at the time of registering for her National identification card, she adopted the name Osupelem which was her late father's name on her other name of Catherine Achola that appears on all academic transcripts and certificates.

 

The court documents further indicate that she deponed a statutory declaration to effect the same and when the ID was issued those names of Catherine Achola Osupelem appeared.

 

She adds that she's a registered voter and the said name appears on the register of voters which is in the custody of EC.

 

Achola  states that  in the bid to notify  the public  about the said  adoption of her late father's  name, she put  a notice which was published  in the Uganda gazette which came  out  in June 1,2018  on page 280 to inform  all persons  about the same.

 

In her suit, she avers that at the time of   nominations, Achola presented and tendered all her academic transcripts, certificates, statutory declaration and gazette notice to the EC's returning officer in charge of Pallisa electoral district who was satisfied with documents presented and proceeded to nominate her as a candidate for Pallisa woman MP.

 

However, Achola says on June 11, she was surprised to learn through the returning officer that NRM, through its directorate legal services had filed a complaint alleging that she was illegally nominated, claiming that she does not possess the required qualifications to contest for the seat.

 

She further states even when she filed a reply through her lawyers with all her documents and even furnished  the EC with  original copies  of the said documents, EC went ahead to uphold the alleged irregularity "stating that the nomination of the petitioner (Achola) was illegal for availing  academic  qualifications which  were not  hers   whereas  it was not".

 

Achola avers that she is possessed of the requisite academic qualifications to stand and there was no evidence before the EC to the contrary.

 

She wants court to declare that the irregularity was wrongly confirmed to exist and orders given by EC to be set aside. Ends

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Barbara Kabahumuza

 

Telephone: 0414337000/0312337000 

Website: http://www.visiongroup.co.ug

E-Paper: https://epaper.visiongroup.co.ug

 

 

 

 

 

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