FDC Faults Government Education Policies, Rejects Plans for Constitutional Square.

Kalungu West Member of Parliament Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu has asked the High Court in Masaka to allow him to engage a government handwriting expert to examine declaration of results forms at the centre of a petition challenging his election victory.

Ssewungu, who contested on the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, was declared the winner of the parliamentary election held on January 15, defeating his closest rival, independent candidate Ismail Ssemakula, by just 46 votes. According to the Electoral Commission’s official tally, Ssewungu polled 10,106 votes against Ssemakula’s 10,060.

However, Ssemakula has challenged the results, accusing Teddy Nabukenya, the Kalungu District Returning Officer, of colluding with Ssewungu and presiding officers at several polling stations to manipulate results in favour of the incumbent.

After an unsuccessful attempt to secure a recount at the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court, Ssemakula petitioned the High Court in Masaka, seeking to overturn Ssewungu’s victory on allegations of electoral fraud. In the petition filed through his lawyer, Abubakar Ssekanjako, Ssemakula alleges that the Electoral Commission relied on forged declaration of results forms to declare Ssewungu the winner.

Ssemakula’s affidavits identify seven polling stations in Kalungu Sub-county and Kyamulibwa Town Council where the declaration of results forms were allegedly signed by the same person. He argues that the similarity in handwriting points to forgery.

He wants the High Court to examine the contested declaration of results forms alongside the Electoral Commission’s official tally sheet and nullify Ssewungu’s election as Member of Parliament.

Ssemakula further alleges that the Electoral Commission’s tally sheet shows that he obtained the highest overall number of votes, but that the results were subsequently switched in favour of Ssewungu.

During a scheduling conference before High Court Judge Joyce Kavuma, however, Ssewungu, through his lawyer Kenneth Paul Kakande, asked the court to allow him to engage a government handwriting expert to examine the contested declaration of results forms. The court granted the application and directed Ssemakula to serve Ssewungu with the original copies of the disputed forms for verification.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the proceedings, Ssewungu questioned the authenticity of the declaration of results forms presented by his opponent and welcomed their examination by a handwriting expert.

Ssewungu’s move to have the documents examined has not been opposed by Ssemakula’s legal team.   Abubaker Ssekanjako, the lawyer representing Ssemakula, said they have no objection to the verification of the evidence, maintaining that they remain confident in their case.   

Justice Kavuma has directed both parties to summarise all their preliminary points of law ahead of the hearing of the main petition, which is scheduled to begin on September 23.