KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Electoral Commission (EC) has set August 11th for by-election of Gogonyo County member of parliament after the court of Appeal kicked out incumbent MP, Mr Derrick Orone, and ordered fresh elections in the area.
This was unveiled by EC Chairman, Justice Simon Byabakama during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting with religious, security, and political leaders and potential candidates at Country Inn in Pallisa Town in which the election roadmap was released.
According to the released roadmap, the process of scrutinising the parish tribunal list of voters on the national voters’ register will end on July 27, while the nomination of candidates will be conducted for two days, from August 1 to 2nd.
“The campaign period will be from August 3 to August 9, while the period for public inspection of candidate’s nomination papers and lodging of official complaints is from August 3 to August 8. I urge you (stakeholders) to mobilise the voters to attend the candidates’ campaign rallies so that they make informed choices,” Byabakama said.
“I also appeal to the political parties and prospective candidates to call upon their supporters to observe law and order and aim at having peaceful, free, fair, and credible elections without any violence,” he added.
Byabakama also issued a ban on any sort of fundraising activities, convoys, parades and processions during campaigns and also called for zero tolerance to malpractices, including voter bribery.
The Gogonyo county seat fell vacant after the Court of Appeal earlier this month ruled that the incumbent MP, Mr. Derrick Orone, was irregularly elected following a petition by his rival Bantalib Taligola and ordered fresh elections to be conducted in the county.
In the hearing, court found that was sufficient evidence showing that Mr Derrick Orone campaigned on the voting day and moved with armed police officers at various polling stations while asking for votes.
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