Like many other colonized countries, the wave of independence in Uganda came along with the promise of elective democracy as was seen during formation of the government that would stir Uganda through independence.
These hopes were quickly quashed as intense political tensions between the then elite plunged the country into years of political turmoil.
It was not until the 1995 Constitution that Uganda established a stable democracy with sufficient safeguards to protect against the possible abuse of democratic processes.
The epitome of these safeguards manifests in the power accorded to courts of law to adjudge the legitimacy of electoral processes and uphold or annul the outcomes.
As such, the 1995 Constitution provides for avenues of challenging election outcomes at different levels in courts of law, as the last resort. Articles 86 and 104 of the Constitution of Uganda respectively provide for the mechanisms under which a Parliamentary and Presidential election can be challenged in courts of law.
With emphasis on Presidential Elections, it is imperative to highlight that most since the 1995 Constitution have been followed by post election petitions as was the case in 2001, 2006, 2016, 2022 and now in 2026, the only exceptions being 1996 and 2011.
A presidential election petition is a unique court proceeding under which the petitioner seeks to challenge the outcomes of a Presidential election.
Who determines the petition?
The Petition is entertained only by the Supreme Court and is the only legal proceeding that commences at the Supreme Court. Article 104(1) of the Constitution, read together with Section 61(1) of the Presidential Elections Act gives the Supreme Court original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine Presidential Election petitions.
*What is the Quorum?*
While hearing the petition, the Supreme Court must convene with a full bench.
As of today, this full bench is constituted with 9 justices of the Supreme Court as was the case in the 2016 petition, while it was 7 justices in the 2006 petition and 5 justices in the 2001 petition.
The width of this bench makes decisions of the court in these petitions rich in jurisprudence.
*What are the powers of court?*
Upon proper inquiry into the matters raised by the petition, the Supreme Court may dismiss the petition, declare that a candidate was validly elected or annul the election.
The Supreme Court also has the power to summon and examine witnesses in these petitions.
*Who can petition?*
The framers of our constitution limited the right to lodge a presidential election petition to only candidates that participated in the impugned election. This is in order to prevent unnecessary and frivolous litigation often deliberately aimed at stalling post-electoral processes.
*What are the timelines?*
The petition has strict timelines with regard to being lodged, being heard and organizing a reelection in case of a successful petition. Article 104 of the Constitution provides for 15 days from declaration of results as the time within which the petition can be lodged.
The same Article provides that the Supreme Court must hear and determine the petition within 45 days. In an event that the petition is successful, the Electoral Commission must organize a reelection within at most 60 days from the determination of court.
*Previous Petitions.*
The Supreme Court has heard and determined three presidential election petitions since the 1995 Constitution, and another one was withdrawn before being conclusively determined.
In Kizza Besigye v EC and YK Museveni (2001), the Supreme Court whose full bench was then 5 justices determined in a 3-2 majority that the irregularities cited by the petitioner were minor and couldn’t substantially affect the final declaration made by the commission.
The same determination was arrived at in the 2006 petition also by Dr. Kizza Besigye, this time with a 4-3 majority on a 7-judge bench as Justice Kanyeihamba authored the dissenting opinion.
In Amama Mbabazi v EC and YK Museveni (2016), the Supreme Court’s 9-judge bench unanimously determined that President Museveni was lawfully elected. The petitions were dismissed on all occasions.
Although Candidate Kyagulanyi Robert lodged a petition challenging the results declared by the EC in the 2021 election, he would later withdraw the petition before its final conclusion.
*The currently on-going Petition.*
The petition being heard in the Supreme Court currently was lodged by Mr. Robert Kasibante, a candidate in the recently concluded presidential election of 2026 in which he was declared 6th out of 8 total candidates.
It is left to see how the Supreme Court shall determine this petition as the hearings are already ongoing bearing in mind the aforementioned strict timelines!
