Pakwach, Uganda: Confusion and frustration marked the ongoing 2026 local government elections in Pakwach District after a ballot paper mix-up was reported in Panyimur Town Council, forcing aggrieved candidates to lodge complaints with the Electoral Commission.
The incident occurred on Thursday during the ballot paper verification and confirmation exercise at Abok Polling Station, where directly elected male district councillor candidates discovered that their names, photographs and ballot symbols had been wrongly interchanged.
The anomaly immediately triggered protests from the affected aspirants, who warned that the error risked misleading voters and undermining the credibility of the poll.
One of the candidates, Okumu Robert, a former Nebbi District LCV chairperson and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer, confirmed that the matter had been formally reported to the Electoral Commission’s Pakwach office.
“To our surprise, we found there was an interchange on the ballot paper,” Okumu said. “Instead of my name being number one with my portrait, the photo belonged to my opponent, yet the symbol was mine. This caused a lot of confusion.”
Okumu added that many voters who arrived early at the polling station were angered by the mismatch and chose to leave without voting.
“All the electorate who came very early in the morning were annoyed, and many decided to leave the polling station,” he said.
He attributed the mix-up to an administrative error and appealed for calm, expressing confidence that the Electoral Commission would announce a rescheduled polling date once corrective measures are put in place.
Meanwhile, Rova Victor Alex, who is contesting as an independent, said while the situation was unfortunate, it was not entirely unexpected.
Rova noted that similar irregularities had occurred during the NRM primary elections in Panyimur Town Council last year, outcomes of which he said did not favour several contestants.
Background to the race shows that during the NRM primaries, Okumu polled 2,016 votes, narrowly defeating Rova, who secured 1,899 votes. The slim margin prompted Rova to contest in the general election as an independent candidate.
Under the disputed ballot papers, Okumu’s NRM bus symbol, name and photograph were swapped with those of Rova, effectively assigning each candidate the other’s identifiers — a situation both camps say is unacceptable in a competitive race.
By press time, the Electoral Commission had not issued an official statement on the error or announced a new polling date. Efforts to obtain comment from the Pakwach District Returning Officer, Sarah Nabukera, were unsuccessful.
Elsewhere in Pakwach District, elections for District Chairperson, Directly Elected District Councillors and District Women Councillors proceeded without major interruptions, although observers reported low voter turnout across the district and the wider Greater Nebbi Sub-region.
Voters and political stakeholders are now awaiting clear communication from the Electoral Commission on how and when the affected poll in Panyimur Town Council will be resolved.
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