The Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court has ordered a full recount of votes cast in the Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament election, despite the discovery of an unsealed ballot box at one polling station.
The decision was delivered on Friday by Masaka Chief Magistrate, Albert Asiimwe, following two days of court proceedings.
The recount arises from an election petition filed by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer, Justine Nameere, who is challenging the Electoral Commission’s declaration of National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Rose Nalubowa as the winner.
According to official Electoral Commission results, Nalubowa garnered 25,443 votes, defeating Nameere, who obtained 20,343 votes. Nameere contends that her victory was unfairly taken away, citing alleged irregularities in the tallying process.
Through her lawyers, Nameere initially applied for a recount at 11 polling stations, claiming that votes cast in her favour were not properly tallied.
However, Magistrate Asiimwe ruled that, in the interest of transparency and justice, the recount should cover all 314 polling stations across Masaka City.
During the hearing, Nalubowa’s defence lawyer, Sam Muyizzi, objected to the application, arguing that the petition had been filed outside the legally prescribed timeframe.
“This application was filed after seven days, which is contrary to the law,” Muyizzi submitted. “We pray that this matter should not proceed further and that it be dismissed with costs, as it was brought out of time.”
The magistrate dismissed the objection and allowed the recount to proceed. In his ruling, Asiimwe cautioned that the exercise would only continue if the integrity of the ballot boxes was maintained.
“I will not proceed with the recount if I find that any ballot box has been tampered with,” he warned.
Following the ruling, the court moved to the Masaka City Electoral Commission offices, where Magistrate Asiimwe personally presided over the verification of ballot boxes before the recount began.
Out of more than 300 ballot boxes examined, one ballot box from Market Triangle Polling Station was found without an official seal. However, the magistrate ruled that the anomaly would not halt the entire recount process.
“This is a unique situation, but the tallying will continue,” Asiimwe said. “Only the polling station with the unsealed ballot box will be excluded from the recount.”
The decision triggered protests from Nalubowa, who described the process as unlawful and inconsistent with the court’s earlier guidance. She accused the magistrate of contradicting his own directive and announced her withdrawal from the recount exercise.
“The magistrate was very clear that if a tampered ballot box was found, the recount would stop,” Nalubowa said. “Why then does the process continue? This is unjust and does not follow the law. I cannot be part of this.”
Nalubowa later walked out of the Electoral Commission offices as the recount continued in her absence.
The recount is ongoing, with the outcome expected to determine whether the Electoral Commission’s original declaration will be upheld or overturned.
