Court is on Monday (September 6, 2021) expected to deliver a ruling on whether to allow new evidence in Katikamu County South MP election petition.
The court presided over by Justice Margaret Apinyi heard that the affidavits of two people who filed an election petition against MP Hassan Kirumira were defective after it was commissioned by a counsel, who has no practicing certificate.
The Judge will therefore decide whether to allow petitioners Nathan Alex Ssenabulya and Patricia Magara to re-administer oath or not. The two are contesting the election of Kirumira as MP.
This comes days after the Principal Judge, Flavian Zeija directed the two election petitions to be consolidated and heard at once following a request by the legislator’s lawyer, Ronald Ruhinda.
Ssenabulya, the election loser, states that the amendment is necessary for the determination of the real question in controversy between the parties in the election petition.
“The amendment will not occasion any injustice to EC or any other party involved in the petition but it will facilitate the adjudication upon all the relevant questions involved in the petition,” he contends.
On his part, Magara asserts that the proposed amendment is neither expressly nor impliedly prohibited by any law.
The duo is challenging Kirumira’s victory, contending that the election was riddled with illegal practices, election offences and irregularities.
The petitioners are also aggrieved by the manner in which EC conducted electoral process, purporting that it was marred by several cases of non-compliance to the electoral laws.
They also claim that the EC presiding officer did not sign on the declaration of results forms in some of the polling stations contrary to Section 47 (5) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
The petitioners also allege that the presiding officer did not give an opportunity to the election candidates’ agents to append signatures to the DR forms as provided for by the law.
“The EC agents altered entries on several DR forms in some polling stations,” Magara contends.
