Three women who had expressed interest in contesting against Speaker of Parliament Anita Among for the Bukedea Woman MP seat have been removed from the national voters’ register.
The affected aspirants are Mercy Marion Alupo of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Norma Susan Otai of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), and Hellen Akol Odeke of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Their names were deleted following rulings by parish tribunals in Bukedea District, which reportedly found that the three were not eligible voters in their respective areas of origin.
However, NUP’s Mercy Marion Alupo accused the Bukedea District Electoral Commission of bias, claiming that its operations were influenced by personal and political interests.
“What do you expect from a Bukedea Electoral Commission where Zipporah’s husband works, and the office itself rents in her building?” Alupo wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Last time we saw how desperately she fought to have Emorut appointed as one of the EC commissioners. System volongoto!”
NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, also criticised the move, describing it as “blatant impunity.”
“These three women dared to challenge that shameless woman, Anita Among,” he said in a statement on Monday. “None of them was ever invited for any tribunal hearing. Even before the court could hear their case, the Electoral Commission met last week and deleted them from the register. This is unprecedented.”
In response, Richard Kamugisha Baabo, the Acting Secretary of the Electoral Commission, defended the decision, saying it was made in accordance with the law.
In an affidavit filed before the High Court, Baabo stated that the Commission reviewed and upheld decisions from parish tribunals in Kopeta, Kolir, Kotolut, and Kidongole sub-counties, which had recommended the removal of the three women from the register.
“The Commission upheld the tribunal decisions based on evidence presented by the parties,” Baabo said, adding that the aspirants were granted ten days to appeal the rulings but did not do so.
The development clears the way for Speaker Among to return to Parliament unopposed for the second consecutive time.
