Fr Onen Concedes Defeat to Mao in Laroo-Pece Division Parliamentary Race

The incumbent Laroo-Pece Division Legislator, Fr Charles Onen, has conceded defeat to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, in the just concluded Parliamentary elections.

Mao, who is the Democratic Party President General, was announced the winner of the hotly contested Laroo-Pece Division parliamentary race in Gulu City by the electoral commission Returning Officer Mike Jjuko on Friday afternoon.

Mao polled 7,359 votes, defeating the incumbent Charles Onen, who garnered 5,562 votes.

Fr Onen says he has accepted the outcome of the results and wished the victor success in his next five-year term in office serving the people of Laroo-Pece Division.

“When one accepts to go for campaigns, there are two things: either you win or lose, and irrespective of the outcome, for me, I am positive, campaigns is not a do or die, there is a season for everything,” said Fr Onen.

Adding that “If they have declared Mao as the winner, well, I concede, let him also lead, the people will make comparison after 38 months from yesterday but one, after 48 months, there will be another campaign, and, for me, I am positive.”

Fr Onen, however, said that while he has conceded the defeat, he still needs to assess why he lost, arguing that there were flaws in the electoral process, especially after the malfunctioning of the Biometric Voters Verification Kits (BVVK).

“First of all, I will need to assess what made me not be declared the winner, because I got about 5,000 votes, and Mao got like 6,000. I need to find out what happened, was it my mistake or were there some irregularities in the electoral process?” he said.

The electoral commission on Thursday opted to use the manual voters’ registers after the Biometric Voter Verification Kits malfunctioned in most polling stations across the country.

Fr Onen was among eight candidates who competed in the hotly Contested Laroo-Pece Division Parliamentary race. Other candidates were National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Tony Kitara, who came third in the race polling 2,867 votes, Uganda People’s Congress Party (UPC) candidate Simon Opoka, who garnered 381 votes, while Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate Geoffrey Komakech polled 236 votes.

Meanwhile, independent candidate Wilfred Opobo garnered 207 votes, Charles Odokonyero got 77 votes, and Democratic Front Candidate Samuel Charles Okello trailed in the parliamentary Contest with 65 votes.

Mike Jjuko, the Electoral Commission Returning Officer for Gulu City, told Uganda Radio Network Friday evening that the elections were peaceful and lauded the candidates for exhibiting tolerance.