Security has been reinforced at the Tororo District Electoral Commission (EC) offices following a court order directing a recount of votes in the Tororo District Woman Member of Parliament race.
The recount stems from a petition filed by incumbent MP Sarah Achieng Opendi through her lawyers, Munutizi and Tumwesigya Advocates, challenging the declaration of Angela Akoth as the winner of the Tororo Woman MP seat in the 2026 general elections.
According to official Electoral Commission results, Akoth secured 78,542 votes, narrowly defeating Opendi, who obtained 78,507 votes, a margin of just 35 votes in a race that attracted eight candidates.
Opendi rejected the outcome, alleging that her votes were unlawfully overturned at ten polling stations. These include Atururkuku Primary School (Streams A–AT), Kidoko Central, Bunganga, Kipangor, Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Nyambulie, Bolimoo Trading Centre, Kainja, TICAF Mosque (Streams A–M), and Papakol Central.
Following the petition, the Tororo Chief Magistrate’s Court granted Opendi’s request for a recount.
In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Irene Nanteby said the grounds raised in the application were valid and warranted a recount.
“The honourable court has found that the grounds in the application have merit and therefore orders a recount of votes from the ten contested polling stations. The Electoral Commission is directed to avail court with the ballot boxes and all relevant election materials so that the recount can be conducted on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at noon,” Nanteby ruled.
The court dismissed objections raised by Akoth’s legal team from Messia, Messiecars, Ssekyewa, Matovu and Company Advocates.
By press time, security personnel had taken control of the EC premises, with access to the tally centre restricted to authorized individuals only.
Meanwhile, a separate petition has been filed by Othieno Okoth, the former Member of Parliament for West Budama North, seeking a full recount of votes in that constituency.
Okoth alleges that his votes were stolen by his political rival, Maximus Ochai, the incumbent MP and National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate.
Results released by Tororo District Returning Officer Robert Twirize show that Okoth received 12,255 votes, while Ochai won with 12,259 votes, securing victory by a margin of just four votes.
In her petition, Opendi further cited alleged electoral irregularities, claiming that the district returning officer ignored numerical discrepancies and failed to include results from some contested polling stations.
Both recounts are expected to draw intense public, political, and legal scrutiny due to the extremely narrow margins involved.
