The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | The Electoral Commission has officially published the results of the parliamentary by-election for the directly elected Member of Parliament Elias Nalukoola Luyimbazi in Kawempe Division North, Kampala. This is in the Uganda Gazette under General Notice No. 832 of 2025.
Earlier in the day, a delegation from the National Unity Platform (NUP) stormed the Electoral Commission (EC) offices in Kampala on Monday to seek an explanation for the delay in gazetting the Kawempe North MP elect nearly two weeks after his election.
Elias Nalukoola Luyimbazi, the NUP candidate, was declared the winner by Kampala Electoral District Returning Officer Henry Makabai after securing 17,764 votes in the Kawempe by-election on March 14. His closest rival, Faridah Nambi of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), garnered 8,593 votes.
After the meeting with the EC earlier today, Nalukoola threatened to go to court.
“In our engagement with the EC, officials stated that they submitted the name to the UPPC (publishers of the gazette). Our subsequent engagements with them will follow. In the meantime, our legal team is finalizing a mandamus – seeking court orders to compel gazettement,” he said.
Despite his victory, Nalukoola has yet to take the oath as a Member of Parliament because the Electoral Commission was by this morning yet to publish his name in the National Gazette, a necessary step before his swearing-in.
If the same commission oversaw an election and declared a winner within 18 hours of the voting exercise, why are they taking so long to gazette me and allow me
assume national duties? We are at the electoral commission to seek answers to this and more questions. pic.twitter.com/kl8ug8lV8d— Luyimbazi Nalukoola (@EliasNalukoola) March 24, 2025
Team to EC
A delegation of NUP leaders, including Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, lawyer George Musisi, and Nalukoola, were in the team that visited the Electoral Commission to demand an explanation for the delay. Addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting with EC officials, Rubongoya expressed concern over the unusual delay in gazetting Nalukoola’s victory.
According to Rubongoya, the standard timeline for by-elections dictates that an elected candidate is gazetted within three to five days, followed by a swearing-in ceremony within three days. However, he alleged that in Nalukoola’s case, there is an intentional delay, raising suspicions of foul play.
“They have taken too long to gazette him, but they told us they have done their part and sent the information. However, they are not in charge of the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC).
Another issue they mentioned is that they are waiting for a report from the returning officer on allegations of election violence,” Rubongoya said. Rubongoya also noted that the EC’s actions are sparking widespread concern, especially given reports that NUP polling agents are being detained by unknown individuals.
Nalukoola condemned the delay in swearing him in, emphasizing that Kawempe North has already gone too long without representation following the death of former MP Muhammad Ssegirinya earlier this year.
“We demand that the Electoral Commission gazette the results and facilitate my swearing-in as Kawempe North’s elected MP. We are unconcerned about NRM’s petitions, but we condemn the arrest and coercion of our supporters to sign petitions against their will, undermining the constituency’s democratic choice,” Nalukoola said.
Deputy EC spokesperson Paul Bukenya assured the NUP delegation that they are working to resolve technical glitches delaying Nalukoola’s swearing-in.
The Kawempe North by-election was marred by electoral malpractice and violence, prompting some media houses to withdraw their reporters. The ruling NRM rejected the results, leading President Museveni to order investigations into the violence and alleged irregularities.
Just in – The Electoral Commission has officially published the results of the parliamentary by-election for the directly elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe Division North, Kampala Capital City, in the Uganda Gazette under General Notice No. 832 of 2025.#UBCNEWS pic.twitter.com/W0wqnWuHEb
— UBC UGANDA (@ubctvuganda) March 24, 2025
