National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Justice Nameere, who is also the daughter of former Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, has been declared the winner of the Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament race following a highly controversial vote recount presided over by Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe.
The decision follows a three-day vote recount exercise that began on Friday evening and concluded late on Sunday night, dramatically overturning the earlier results announced by the Electoral Commission (EC). In those initial results, the EC had declared National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Rose Nalubowa as the winner of the January 15 elections.
The recount has since sparked intense debate within legal, political, and civil society circles, with several law experts questioning both the legality and credibility of the process under which the exercise was conducted.
Concerns emerged early in the recount after the presiding magistrate reportedly discovered one ballot box that was broken and lacked an official seal. Despite this discovery, the recount exercise proceeded, raising questions about adherence to established electoral laws and procedures.
As the recount continued, further irregularities came to light. Seven ballot boxes were found completely empty, with no ballot papers inside, while two other ballot boxes contained only ballot papers ticked in favor of NRM’s Justice Nameere.
To many observers, these findings strongly suggested that the ballot boxes had been tampered with prior to the recount. Nevertheless, Chief Magistrate Asiimwe opted to continue with the exercise, a decision that critics say has now set a troubling precedent for future electoral disputes.
The controversy was further amplified by comparisons to a previous case in Kalungu East, where the same magistrate had declined to order a vote recount after ballot boxes were found with broken seals. In that instance, the recount had been sought by Vincent Ssempijja, Nameere’s father. Critics argue that the magistrate’s differing decisions under similar circumstances raise serious questions about consistency and judicial impartiality.
Despite the objections, Magistrate Asiimwe proceeded to announce the outcome of the recount, stating that upon re-examination of all ballot papers from 313 polling stations, the court had established that Justice Nameere obtained 25,502 votes.
This figure marked a significant increase from the 20,324 votes that the Electoral Commission had initially allocated to her in the original tally.
On the other hand, Rose Nalubowa, who had earlier been declared the winner with 25,443 votes, saw her total reduced to 23,176 votes following the recount, effectively pushing her into second place.
The recount also altered the fortunes of the other contenders in the race. Juliet Kakande Nakabuye of the Democratic Front (DF) was found to have garnered 6,136 votes, down from the 6,343 votes earlier credited to her by the Electoral Commission.
Similarly, Sauyah Nanyonga, an independent candidate, saw her vote count reduced from 6,196 votes to 5,921 votes after the recount exercise.
In delivering his ruling, Magistrate Asiimwe noted that the recount had uncovered numerical errors made during the initial tallying process by the Returning Officer of Masaka City. He observed that these errors had substantially affected the final outcome and had denied Justice Nameere victory in the earlier declaration.
Justice Nameere had petitioned the court seeking a vote recount, alleging that the returning officer omitted results from 11 polling stations where she had won and further reduced her vote totals at several polling stations, actions she argued had erroneously advantaged the NUP candidate.
The trial magistrate ruled that the re-examination of the ballot boxes satisfied these allegations, concluding that the irregularities cited by Nameere had indeed occurred.
On the basis of those findings, the court formally declared Justice Nameere the winner of the Masaka City Woman MP polls, effectively nullifying the Electoral Commission’s earlier declaration.
As the dust settles, the recount has left behind a deeply divided public, with supporters hailing the ruling as a correction of injustice, while critics warn that the process may undermine confidence in the judiciary and the electoral system.
Whether the decision will face further legal challenge remains to be seen, but the Masaka City Woman MP race has undeniably become one of the most contentious electoral battles in recent memory.
