The High Court in Mpigi has upheld Amelia Kyambadde’s victory in the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election for Mawokota County North, dismissing a petition challenging her election over alleged alterations to declaration of results forms and other electoral irregularities.
Kiyaga had accused Electoral Commission officials of altering declaration of results forms at several polling stations, allegedly reducing his votes by 923 and increasing Kyambadde’s tally by 9,133 votes.
However, Justice Karemani ruled that the mere presence of alterations on declaration of results forms was insufficient to establish electoral fraud. He said the petitioner had to prove that the changes were deliberately made to manipulate the election results.
“Alterations per se do not constitute an illegality or an offence unless there is proof of ulterior motive which in turn qualifies it to be an offence under Section 95 of the Parliamentary Elections Act,” the judge ruled.
He observed that the returning officer’s explanation had not been challenged by credible evidence. He also noted that the petitioner had admitted that he did not raise any complaint during the display and tallying of the results.
“Therefore, the possibility of correction of errors as explained by the Returning Officer prevails. It did not therefore amount to non-compliance with the electoral laws,” Justice Karemani held.
The court also found that 22 affidavits filed by the petitioner’s polling agents were defective because they did not comply with the Illiterates Protection Act. The law requires the identification of individuals who prepare and translate documents for people unable to read the language in which the documents are written.
Justice Karemani struck out the 22 affidavits, ruling that failure to identify the individuals who had written and translated the documents rendered them incurably defective.
Although the court allowed the petition to proceed on the basis of the remaining evidence, the judge found that it was insufficient to establish that the declaration of results forms had been fraudulently altered.
On allegations that some declaration of results forms lacked the signatures of candidates’ agents, the court observed that the law does not automatically invalidate election results where candidates or their agents fail or refuse to sign the forms.
The judge also considered allegations that Kyambadde was disqualified from contesting the election because she had previously served as a Senior Presidential Advisor. However, the petitioner ultimately failed to establish sufficient grounds to warrant the nullification of her election.
According to results declared by the Electoral Commission, Kyambadde won the Mawokota County North parliamentary seat with 27,075 votes against Kiyaga’s 24,801.
Justice Karemani consequently confirmed Kyambadde as the directly elected Member of Parliament for Mawokota County North and ordered each party to bear its own costs of the petition.
