MASAKA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) – The High Court in Masaka has dismissed an election petition filed by Nalubowa Rose challenging the election of Nameere Justine as Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament, despite finding that the vote recount was conducted in breach of electoral law.
In a judgment delivered today on October 21, 2026, Justice Bernard Namanya ruled that although the recount involved compromised electoral materials, Nalubowa had failed to prove that the irregularities substantially affected the election outcome.
The judge ordered Nalubowa to pay the costs of the petition, leaving Nameere’s election intact.
Nalubowa had asked the court to overturn the results of a recount that reversed her initial victory in the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election.
The Electoral Commission initially declared Nalubowa the winner with 25,443 votes against Nameere’s 20,324.
However, Nameere applied for a recount, arguing that results from several polling stations had been omitted from the final declaration.
Following the recount, Nameere was declared the winner with 25,502 votes, while Nalubowa obtained 23,176, giving Nameere a lead of 2,326 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Nalubowa challenged the recount, accusing election officials of relying on photocopied declaration of results forms, proceeding with compromised ballot boxes and improperly excluding results from nine polling stations.
She also argued that the recount was conducted outside the statutory period and without adequate supervision by the Chief Magistrate.
However, Justice Namanya rejected the argument that the recount had been conducted outside the legally prescribed period. He ruled that the Chief Magistrate had determined the recount application within the four-day period provided by law, even though the actual counting exercise ended on February 1, 2026.
The judge also found that Nalubowa had failed to prove that the recount proceeded without proper judicial supervision.
On the handling of electoral materials, however, the court found that the recount had been conducted in non-compliance with electoral law after the integrity of several election materials had been compromised.
The court established that results from nine polling stations, with 3,978 registered voters, had been omitted from the initial declaration. During the recount, results from the same nine stations were excluded because of problems involving electoral materials.
The judge determined that the actual number of votes cast at the excluded polling stations was 1,353, rather than the total number of registered voters.
Justice Namanya then assessed whether the exclusion of those votes could have changed the election outcome.
He noted that Nameere had won by 2,326 votes. Even if all the 1,353 excluded votes had been awarded to Nalubowa, her total would have risen to 24,529, still leaving Nameere ahead with 25,502 votes.
The judge consequently ruled that the irregularities had not substantially affected the election result, as required under the law for an election to be annulled.
“Accordingly, notwithstanding that the recount was conducted in non-compliance with the electoral law, the petitioner has not established that the non-compliance affected the election result in a substantial manner,” Justice Namanya ruled.
He rejected Nalubowa’s request to cancel Nameere’s election and declare her the duly elected representative for Masaka City.
The Judge dismissed the petition and ordered Nalubowa to pay costs to Nameere and the Electoral Commission.
