The National Resistance Movement’s Nathan Igeme Nabeta has said he will legally contest the victory of Forum for Democratic Change candidate Paul Mwiru, who won the Jinja East Constituency by-election conducted on Thursday.
According to the NRM, Mwiru’s victory yesterday was not in accordance with the electoral laws, and addressing journalists in Jinja today, Justine Kasule Lumumba, the party Secretary General said the election was “riddled with various electoral malpractices like multiple voting, voter bribery and intimidation of voters.”
She said the party had instructed its legal team to chart a way forward. “We have instructed the party’s legal team to assess the evidence and advice on appropriate action,” Ms. Lumumba said.
The Jinja District Returning officer Rogers Serunjoji declared FDC’s Mwiru winner of the hotly contested election which saw political big wigs from both FDC and NRM, including the President Museveni, camping in Jinja to campaign for their respective party candidates.
According to official results released last night, Mwiru defeated Nabeta with scored 6654 votes to 5043. The constituency fell vacant when the Court of Appeal overturned Mwiru’s victory that had been registered in the High Court.
In 2016 Mwiru had successfully appealed against Nabeta’s victory on matters of malpractice in the High Court which ordered that he (Mwiru) automatically becomes MP but Nabeta appealed in the Court of Appeal which ordered for fresh elections.
