The High Court in Masaka has upheld Justine Nameere’s election as Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament, ruling that Rose Nalubowa failed to prove that electoral irregularities affected the final outcome of the 2026 parliamentary election.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Justice Bernard Namanya dismissed Nalubowa’s election petition and ordered her to pay the costs of the case.
However, the court found that the Electoral Commission failed to safeguard ballot boxes and other election materials, while the recount exercise that overturned Nalubowa’s initial victory did not fully comply with electoral laws.
The dispute stems from the January 15, 2026 parliamentary elections, in which Nalubowa was initially declared the winner with 25,443 votes against Nameere’s 20,324.
Nameere subsequently challenged the results, alleging that votes from 11 polling stations had been omitted. Following an application, Masaka Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe ordered a recount of all 314 ballot boxes on January 30, 2026.
The recount reversed the initial results, awarding Nameere 25,502 votes and Nalubowa 23,176, giving Nameere a winning margin of 2,326 votes.
Nalubowa challenged the outcome, citing unsecured ballot boxes, missing ballot papers, irregular counting procedures and the exclusion of results from nine polling stations.
Court Faults Electoral Commission
In his judgment, Justice Namanya agreed that the recount process violated electoral laws because officials continued counting votes despite discovering that some ballot boxes and election materials had been compromised.
The judge also faulted the Electoral Commission for failing to adequately protect the election materials.
Additionally, Namanya found that the chief magistrate exceeded his powers by declaring Nameere the winner, explaining that the law requires the returning officer to make the formal declaration after receiving the recount certificate.
Despite these findings, the judge ruled that the established irregularities were insufficient to nullify the election.
He noted that Nalubowa had not provided a detailed, polling-station-by-polling-station comparison demonstrating how the recount figures differed from the original results.
The court also found that she had not presented the complete recount proceedings or sufficient evidence showing that she had formally sought the relevant records from the chief magistrate and the Electoral Commission.
Consequently, the judge said the court lacked sufficient evidence to establish that the certified recount results failed to reflect the electorate’s choice.
1,353 Excluded Votes Could Not Change the Outcome
A central issue in the petition was the exclusion of votes from nine polling stations after officials reportedly discovered broken seals, missing ballots and other irregularities.
According to the court, the nine polling stations had 3,886 registered voters, but 1,353 votes cast for the two leading candidates were excluded from the final tally.
Of the excluded votes, Nameere had received 743, while Nalubowa had secured 610.
Nalubowa argued that excluding the votes undermined the rights of thousands of voters and could have affected the election outcome.
However, Justice Namanya applied the legal test of substantiality to determine whether the irregularities were significant enough to warrant overturning the election.
The judge reasoned that even if all 1,353 excluded votes had been awarded to Nalubowa, her total would have risen to 24,529, still below Nameere’s 25,502 votes.
This would have left Nameere ahead by 973 votes.
The court therefore concluded that the excluded votes could not have changed the election outcome, even under the scenario most favourable to Nalubowa.
Nameere Retains Parliamentary Seat
In dismissing the petition, Justice Namanya concluded that although Nalubowa had established violations of electoral procedures, she had failed to demonstrate that those violations substantially affected the final result.
The judge consequently rejected her request to nullify Nameere’s election and reinstate her as Masaka City Woman MP.
The ruling allows Nameere to retain her parliamentary seat while requiring Nalubowa to meet the legal costs of the dismissed petition.
Although the judgment upholds Nameere’s victory, the court’s findings raise questions about the Electoral Commission’s handling and protection of election materials and compliance with the law during electoral recounts.
