Jinja High Court has Monday afternoon nullified the election of Robert Ntende as the Member of Parliament for Bunya South County in Mayuge district.
Justice Margret Mutonyi concurred with the former area Member of Parliament Iddi Isabirye that the election of Ntende was marred by malpractices which grossly affected the outcome.
Ntende, an NRM-leaning Independent, contested against Isabirye who won the ruling party ticket in primaries’.
Ntende was later declared the winner of the February 18 parliamentary election for Bunya south.
However, Isabirye rejected Ntende’s victory, filing a petition at Iganga Magistrate’s Court for a recount – which was granted.
But Ntende swiftly secured an interim court order at the Jinja-based High Court, stopping the magistrate from conducting the exercise.
This prompted Isabirye to file his petition in the High Court.
In his ruling today, the judge accused polling officials of tampering with the declaration forms from some polling stations.
He accordingly declared the position of MP vacant before ordering the electoral commission to comply by organizing a free, fair and credible by-election in Bunya south and also the first defendant to meet legal costs of the appellant.
Earlier, the same court quashed NRM candidate Eng Daniel Ibaale’s election petition challenging the election of Bugweri County MP Abdu Katuntu.
Ibaale had alleged ballot stuffing by Katuntu but justice Mutonyi ruled that there was no evidence adduced to that effect.
Katuntu defeated Ibaale by 6 votes