Court nullifies NUP’s Godfrey Ssaazi’s election, orders fresh poll.

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1135 EAT on Wednesday 28 October 2026

The High Court in Mpigi has nullified the election of National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Godfrey Ssaazi as Gomba East Member of Parliament, ruling that the destruction of electoral materials at nine polling stations substantially affected the outcome of the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election.

In a judgment delivered by email on Monday, Justice Jamson Karemani set aside Ssaazi’s election, declared the parliamentary seat vacant and directed the Electoral Commission to organise a fresh election in the constituency.

The ruling followed an election petition filed by National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Henry Kirumira Harris Kalule, who challenged Ssaazi’s victory over alleged irregularities that he said undermined the credibility of the electoral process.

Ssaazi was declared the winner with 10,907 votes against Kalule’s 9,156, giving him a margin of 1,751 votes.

Through his lawyers, led by Jude Byamukama of JByamukama Advocates, Kalule challenged the exclusion of results from four polling stations and the disruption of voting, as well as the destruction of electoral materials at nine others.

The four polling stations whose results were excluded were Buyana Trading Centre, Tiginya SDA Primary School, Kiziba Trading Centre (NAKE-Z) and Buyinja Butoole Primary School B in Kigongo-Lugingi. The stations had a combined total of 959 registered voters.

Kalule argued that voting had taken place at the four stations and that declaration of results forms had been completed and signed by candidates’ agents. However, the results were not included in the final tally.

Justice Karemani noted that the parties agreed that the results had been omitted and that the available figures should be included in the final tally.

The declaration forms showed that Kalule had received 453 votes from the four polling stations, while Ssaazi obtained 366.

Including the omitted votes would have increased Kalule’s total to 9,609 and Ssaazi’s to 11,273, leaving Ssaazi with a winning margin of 1,664 votes.

The judge ruled that although the omission contravened electoral requirements, it did not substantially affect the election outcome because Ssaazi would still have won.

However, the court reached a different conclusion regarding the nine polling stations where voting was disrupted and electoral materials destroyed.

The affected stations were Ttaba Trading Centre, Buyebeyi C.O.U, Kimbo Catholic Church (A-NAKA), Kimbo Catholic Church (NAKE-Z), Serumbe UMEA Primary School A in Golola A, Jumbi C.O.U, Serumbe UMEA Primary School B in Kibaka, Kindimunda Playground and St Peter Primary School in Ngeribalya.

Justice Karemani found that the votes from the nine polling stations could not be established, leaving the electoral choices of 4,387 registered voters unknown.

The judge agreed with the respondents that it would be speculative to assume that all the registered voters had turned up to vote or that they would have voted for Kalule.

However, he observed that both candidates would likely have received votes, as they did at other polling stations. This made it impossible to determine how the missing votes would have affected the final election results.

Justice Karemani said courts must consider the number of affected voters in relation to the margin separating candidates when determining whether electoral irregularities substantially affected an election outcome.

In this case, the judge noted that Ssaazi’s winning margin, after accounting for the omitted results, stood at 1,664 votes, less than half the number of registered voters whose electoral choices remained unknown.

He consequently ruled that the non-compliance with electoral laws and principles had substantially affected the outcome of the election, warranting the nullification of Ssaazi’s victory.

Ssaazi had maintained that the election was substantially free and fair and that the declared results reflected the will of the majority of voters. He denied responsibility for the disruptions at the nine polling stations, instead accusing Kalule, his agents and supporters of causing the chaos that allegedly led to the destruction of electoral materials.

The Gomba District returning officer and the Electoral Commission attributed the omission of results from the four polling stations to a technical glitch discovered after polling. They maintained that the omission did not substantially affect the election outcome.

The two respondents further argued that the destruction of electoral materials at the nine polling stations affected all candidates equally and asked the court to dismiss the petition.

Justice Karemani, however, held that the failure by the returning officer and the Electoral Commission to safeguard the electoral process contributed to the breach of electoral requirements.

The court consequently nullified Ssaazi’s election, declared the parliamentary seat vacant and directed the Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh poll. Each party was ordered to bear its own legal costs.

-Observer

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