Ivan Bwowe has lodged asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to nullify the nomination of seven rival candidates, arguing that they were nominated for a non-existent constituency.
Mr Bwowe, in an audacious and comical petition, said the seven have been nominated for a "nonexistent constituency called Nakawa West" arguing that the legally recognised constituency is Nakawa Division West.
In the petition received by the EC on November 6, 2025, Bwowe insists that he is the only validly nominated candidate for Nakawa Division West, which he says is the officially recognised constituency.
“I am a validly nominated candidate for the constituency of Nakawa Division West, having fulfilled all legal requirements on October 23, 2025,” the petition reads in part.
Bwowe contends that his opponents were instead nominated for “Nakawa West,” a constituency name he claims does not appear in the official gazette.
“The constituency known as Nakawa West does not legally exist and was never demarcated by the Electoral Commission for the 2025–2026 electoral cycle,” he argues.
The petition names Happy Nasasira, Herbert Anderson Burora, Felix Ephraim Okuye, Vincent Norbert Okumu, incumbent MP Joel Besekezi Ssenyonyi, Wilberforce Kyambadde, and Rwamiti Apuuli among those whose nominations he wants nullified.
Bwowe says he obtained certified nomination documents and voter records showing that six of the respondents are registered voters in Nakawa Division West but were nominated under Nakawa West.
He further claims that one contender, identified as the first respondent, is registered in Mbarara North Division and is therefore ineligible to contest in Nakawa.
“The names of electoral areas are displayed and gazetted for particular reasons, and those seeking national leadership positions should be aware of this information,” the petition states.
Bwowe maintains that the nominations of all seven respondents are invalid because they were made for an electoral area “not provided for under the law,” leaving him as the sole valid candidate.
He is now asking the Electoral Commission to declare him Member of Parliament for Nakawa Division West under Section 19(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which provides for unopposed candidates to be declared elected.
