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NRM Sweeps Youth MP elections
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has won all the five slots for Youth Members of Parliament, continuing it’s dominance of Electoral college elections.
Agnes Kirabo, the NRM flag bearer for Central region youth MP seat collected 780 votes against her closest challenger, to beat Ivan Bwowe who garnered 85 votes.
Close on the chase was Michael Katongole with 75 votes and Simon Sennyonga with 49 votes.
Abdel Kareem Ziritwawula and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party’s Gyaviira Kasumba got nine votes each while Alvin Semmamba got one vote.
Moses Kasule of the National Unity Platform (NUP) was disqualified by the Electoral Commission (EC) for using a non-delegate to support his candidature.
In Western Uganda, Edson Rugumayo emerged winner with 1,419 votes, beating Minister Beti Kamya’s son Arnold Turwomwe who garnered 402. Others performed as this: Denmark Adios Beineomugisha of FDC who got 26 votes, James Kamukama of (NUP) got 3 votes, and Independent Edwin Muramuzi got 41 votes, Paul Kato got 1 vote and 402 votes.
In Northern Uganda, Boniface Henry Okot carried the day after collecting 1,280 votes beating Boniface Young of the NUP who got 104 votes. Daniel Obal (independent) got 75 votes, Kelvin Ocaya of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) and Patrick Odero of the FDC scored 10 and 03 votes respectively.
Out of the 1,731 youth delegates from the 41 districts of West Nile, Karamoja, Acholi and Lango sub –regions, 1,485 delegates cast their votes while 246 were turned away for late arrival.
In Eastern Uganda, Odoi Bernard Onen Mutusa polled 967 votes to beat stiff challenge from Sumayyah Aliza Balunywa (Independent) who got 448 votes.
Jackline Ajego garnered 208 votes followed by Judah Thadeo Wanyama with 105 votes. Alfred Ongwen polled 11 while John Solomon Nabuyanda trailed with one vote.
Earlier, Phiona Nyamutooro who was also on the NRM ticket, had also been voted the new Female National Youth MP.
However the newly elected Eastern Youth MP Bernard Odoi, had been disqualified from the Elections by the Chairperson of The Electoral Commission Justice Simon Byabakama.
In his letter dated December 31, 2020 he disqualified Odoi from the youth elections for Eastern Uganda on grounds that the academic papers he submitted for nomination were not compatible with his age.
“Whereas the said candidate stated in his nomination paper that he is 29 years old, according to his voter registration details, his date of birth is 27th August 1990 and this makes him 30 years by the time he was nominated.
The same date of birth is captured as such in the village youth council nomination register for the period July/August 2020,” Byabakama said in the letter.
“Further given that the said candidate admitted that he completed the Uganda Certificate of Education in 1999, this makes the date of birth of 28th August 1991 improbable, given the mandatory years required for one to attain both primary and secondary education in Uganda. He definitely could not have completed O level education at eight years of age.”
However, Odoi appealed against the disqualification by the Electoral Commission and on Sunday, Justice Emmanuel Baguma of the High Court in Kampala reinstated him in the race.
The judge ruled that the official birth certificate, National identification card and passport prove that Odoi was born on 28th August 1991 and not 1990 .
“The petitioner(Odoi) also presented a notification of change of error in the information from NIRA regarding his date of birth.
This court is therefore bound by the official documents issued by NIRA and the National Citizenship and Immigration Board about the date of birth of the petitioner since they are the authorized bodies with bio-data in Uganda to validate such information in line with Section 5 (1) (h) of the Registration of Persons Act, cited above.
In the final result, court finds that the official Birth certificate, National identification card and passport prove that the petitioner was born on the 28th August 1991,” Justice Baguma said in a ruling dated December 31, 2020 and delivered by email.
“The petitioner(Odoi) is a youth within the meaning of the National Youth Council Act, Cap. 319 and the National Youth Council Act, Cap. 319 (as amended).
The petitioner was validly nominated by the first respondent(EC) on the 22nd day of December, 2020 to contest for the elective office of Eastern Region representative of the Youth to Parliament.”
The court, therefore, ruled that Odoi was eligible to contest for the elective office of Eastern Region representative of the Youth to Parliament.
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