Another NRM MP declared winner as court throws out opponent

2021 ELECTION WATCH: The National Resistance Movement candidate for Madi Okollo district Woman MP race Joane Okia Asiku has been declared winner of the parliamentary seat as court kicked out opponent from the race leaving her unopposed.

The returning officer of the Electoral Commission in district, John Olinga Gonzaga, declared Joane Okia unopposed on Monday as Gloria Aciro, the Alliance for National Transformation flag bearer was found guilty of defamation due to irregularities in her nomination documents.

A petition filed by Aniku’s’s lawyers on December 14, 2020 pointed out that on the file copy of the nomination papers of Aciro, the names of Isaac Angubo and Katerena Aliya appear as her supporters but there are no signatures appended against the two names.

The petition further indicated that the returning officer’s file copy of the nomination documents and the duplicate retained by Aciro have signatures against the said names, which are glaringly different even to an untrained eye.

According to the Electoral Commission, Angubo appeared before the commission for verification. Although both his national identity card and work card duo bore a resembling signature, this was different from the one attributed to him on the nomination papers of Aciro.

Aliya and Angubo reportedly denied ever supporting the nomination of Aciro by writing their names and appending their respective signatures.

The Electoral Commission chairman, Justice Byabakama, consequently ordered for the denomination of Aciro and directed that the NRM candidate be declared unopposed.

Aniku was excited following her declaration as unopposed for the Woman MP’s seat.

Efforts to reach Aciro for a comment proved futile as she could not pick repeated calls.

Similarly, the EC recently denominated Terego West ANT candidate Andrua Martin Drani and Sam Egama, an Independent candidate, over irregularities in their names.