Tallying Errors Admitted in Mukono LC V Election

Updated by HICGI News agency at 1350 EAT on Thursday 24 September 2026

Kampala, Uganda | Electoral Commission officials have admitted before the High Court that errors were made while tallying results in the Mukono District LC V chairperson election, in which National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Francis Lukooya Mukoome was declared the winner.

National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga is challenging Lukooya’s victory, citing discrepancies in declaration of results forms, missing polling-station returns and irregularities in the tallying process.

The petition centres on two declarations made at the Mukono District tally centre. Electoral Commission Returning Officer Emily Amongin initially declared Muyanja the winner with 51,686 votes against Lukooya’s 50,254. Independent candidate Reuben Ssenyonjo received 2,995 votes.

However, a subsequent tally put Lukooya at 52,523 votes, Muyanja at 52,105 and Ssenyonjo at 3,095, resulting in Lukooya being declared winner by 418 votes.

During the continued hearing of the petition before High Court Judge Phillip Mwaka, Amongin was cross-examined over discrepancies in the declaration of results forms, missing polling-station returns and the circumstances under which the disputed results were included in the final tally.

The Electoral Commission’s admission of tallying errors is expected to be central to the court’s consideration of Muyanja’s petition.

Despite the comment, the results from the station were included in the final tally. Amongin told the court that she was not physically present at the polling station but said the polling materials were available.
The lawyers also pointed to the absence of signatures by some polling agents on the declaration form.

Another disputed form was from Namumpa polling station, where a handwritten comment alleged that some ballot papers had been ticked by armed personnel.

Amongin confirmed that she had tallied 100 votes for Lukooya from the station but acknowledged that she had not read the comment on the reverse side of the form before including the results in the tally.

Justice Mwaka intervened, observing that Amongin could not be expected to agree with a statement she had not personally written.

Missing Polling Station Returns, Tallying Errors Emerge in Mukono LC V Election Petition

A major issue before the court was the omission of results from four polling stations. The court heard that Mukono District had 960 polling stations, but certified tally records did not contain results from Madujju Mosque, Mpunge Primary School in Busooke-Kikeera, Mpunge NAK-Z and Buwujja Faith Nursery School.

The four stations had a combined 1,942 registered voters, comprising 278 at Madujju Mosque, 665 at Mpunge Primary School, 618 at Mpunge NAK-Z and 381 at Buwujja Faith Nursery School.

Amongin confirmed that voting had taken place at the four stations but said the Electoral Commission had not received their results. She also confirmed that violence had been reported in some of the affected areas.
Despite the missing returns, Lukooya was declared the winner by 418 votes.

During re-examination by Electoral Commission lawyer Hamidu Logoloobi, Amongin said that when results were not received, the relevant sub-county supervisor reported the matter, and the affected polling stations were excluded from the final tally.

She maintained that after tallying the available returns, Lukooya had obtained the highest number of votes.

However, Muyanja’s lawyers questioned why Amongin’s affidavit did not specifically mention the alleged violence at the affected polling stations and why it lacked a police report or reference number relating to the incidents.

Amongin confirmed that no police reference number concerning the alleged violence had been included in her affidavit.
Presiding Officers Admit Tallying Errors
The court also heard evidence from presiding officers about discrepancies in figures recorded on declaration of results forms.

Yulian Nalwanga, a presiding officer at Nasuuti UCC J-T polling station, was asked to explain a declaration form showing Lukooya with 95 votes, Muyanja with no votes and Ssenyonjo with 95 votes, despite the same form indicating that only 95 valid votes had been cast.

Nalwanga could not immediately explain the figures and acknowledged that there could have been an error in tallying. She also admitted that she did not personally enter all the figures, despite participating in the tallying process and signing the form.
She acknowledged that presiding officers were expected to complete the declaration forms themselves.

Another presiding officer, Godfrey Nsamba, who supervised voting at Kisoga Central polling station, also acknowledged a tallying error.

The declaration form showed 209 female and 160 male voters, bringing the total to 369. However, the votes recorded for the candidates and invalid ballots amounted to 389, resulting in a discrepancy of 20 votes.

-Observer

Invest or Donate towards HICGI New Agency Global Media Establishment – Watch video here