A planned vote recount at the Hoima Magistrate’s Court took an unexpected turn after the court instead upheld the election of Mercy Kanyesigye as National Female Youth Member of Parliament, citing tampered ballot materials.
What began as a legal challenge to Kanyesigye’s victory quickly shifted into a controversy over the integrity of election materials.
The petition, filed by rival candidate Diana Ampaire Kampe, had prompted the court to order a recount of votes from the February 6 election, following allegations of irregularities. But when the ballot boxes were presented in court on Wednesday, attention turned from the vote tally to the condition of the materials themselves.
Kanyesigye’s lawyer, Asuman Basalirwa, immediately objected to the recount, arguing that the seals securing the ballot boxes did not match those used on polling day. He told the court that the inconsistencies pointed to possible interference after the election.
Basalirwa presented records indicating that the seal numbers differed from those officially documented, and urged the court to halt the recount and maintain the declared results.
After reviewing submissions from both parties, the magistrate ruled that the integrity of the ballot materials had been compromised, making it impossible to proceed with a credible recount. The court consequently upheld the earlier results confirming Kanyesigye as the duly elected National Female Youth MP.
Preliminary results had shown Kanyesigye leading with 216 votes against Ampaire’s 198. Julia Muhumuza garnered 24 votes, while Edith Namande of the National Unity Platform received one vote. One ballot was declared invalid.
While the ruling secures Kanyesigye’s seat, it has opened a wider debate about the custody of election materials after polls close. Questions are now being raised about who is responsible for safeguarding ballot boxes — and how such discrepancies arise in cases where recounts are ordered.
What was meant to settle an electoral dispute has instead intensified scrutiny over the security of Uganda’s post-election processes.
