Justice Wagona said the inclusion of the actual results from the three polling stations did not change the identity of the winner but instead strengthened Batuwa’s victory.
The High Court in Jinja has dismissed an election petition filed by National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Balyeku Moses Grace challenging the election of National Unity Platform (NUP) legislator Batuwa Timothy Lusala as Member of Parliament for Jinja South Division West Constituency.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, November 5, 2026, Justice Vincent Wagona dismissed the petition, ruling that Balyeku had failed to prove that alleged irregularities in the January 15, 2026, parliamentary election substantially affected the final outcome.
The court also ordered Balyeku to pay the costs of the petition to both Batuwa and the Electoral Commission, which were the respondents in the case.
Balyeku had challenged Batuwa’s victory, alleging that the Jinja City Returning Officer, Nakasi Flavia, excluded results from 10 of the constituency’s 63 polling stations during the initial tally, thereby affecting the final outcome.
He argued that the omitted results were favourable to his candidature and that their inclusion would have enabled him to defeat Batuwa by 1,030 votes. Alternatively, he claimed that even if only four of the disputed polling stations were considered, he would have won by 18 votes.
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He further accused the Returning Officer of conducting a fresh tally on February 6, 2026, after declaring Batuwa the winner, and subsequently altering the election results.
However, Batuwa and the Electoral Commission denied the allegations, maintaining that the final results were declared after tallying votes from 59 of the 63 polling stations, with four stations excluded because of disputed or unavailable results.
The Electoral Commission’s final tally showed Batuwa with 4,900 votes against Balyeku’s 3,083, giving the NUP candidate a winning margin of 1,817 votes.
In evaluating the evidence, Justice Wagona noted that the results from three of the four excluded polling stations were eventually established through certified Declaration of Results Forms presented by Batuwa, while no completed results were available for St Gonzaga Catholic Church polling station.
The court established that Balyeku obtained 43 votes against Batuwa’s 81 at Rippon Nile Avenue Gardens, 35 against 77 at Mvule (Nampi-NZ) PMM Secondary School, and 39 against 64 at National Housing Destitute Home Kateyamba Centre.
The three polling stations therefore gave Balyeku a combined 117 votes against Batuwa’s 222.
When these results were added to the officially declared totals, Batuwa’s votes increased to 5,122 while Balyeku’s rose to 3,200, widening the winning margin from 1,817 to 1,922 votes.
Justice Wagona said the inclusion of the actual results from the three polling stations did not change the identity of the winner but instead strengthened Batuwa’s victory.
The judge consequently ruled that even if the omission of the four polling stations amounted to non-compliance with electoral laws, it did not substantially affect the election outcome as required under the Parliamentary Elections Act.
The court also rejected Balyeku’s reliance on uncertified photocopies of electoral documents, ruling that they were inadmissible and expunging them from the evidential record.
In his final orders, Justice Wagona dismissed the petition and directed Balyeku to meet the legal costs incurred by Batuwa and the Electoral Commission.
