Nakawa West is Non-existent: Bwowe Petitions EC to Nullify all Nominations

Parliamentary candidate Ivan Bwowe has petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC), challenging what he describes as the illegal nomination of seven contenders in a non-existent Nakawa West Constituency for the 2025 – 2026 general elections.

Bwowe, who was nominated to contest as Member of Parliament for Nakawa Division West, argues that several of his rivals were erroneously nominated under the name “Nakawa West,” a constituency he insists has no legal recognition in Uganda’s electoral framework.

In his petition addressed to the EC Secretary and received by the Electoral Commission Security Registry, Bwowe accuses the Commission of committing an administrative blunder by accepting the nominations of Happy Nasasira, Herbert Anderson Burora, Felix Ephraim Okuye, Vincent Norbert Okumu, Joel Besekezi Ssenyonyi, Wilberforce Kyambadde, and Miles Rwamiti Apuuli under a non-gazetted constituency name.

He maintains that the official list of demarcated and gazetted electoral areas only recognizes Nakawa Division West, not Nakawa West, and therefore, any nominations under the latter are null and void.

In a sworn affidavit, Bwowe explains that he was validly nominated on October 23, 2025, after meeting all legal requirements. Upon reviewing official EC documents, he confirmed that Nakawa Division West is the lawful electoral area.

Despite this, the seven aspirants allegedly submitted nomination forms citing Nakawa West, an error, Bwowe contends, that fundamentally invalidates their nominations.

He claims to possess certified copies of the respondents’ nomination forms, which clearly indicate the incorrect constituency name, filled and submitted by the candidates themselves.

According to Bwowe, voter registration records further reveal that all the respondents, except Nasasira Happy, are registered voters in Nakawa Division West, while Nasasira is registered in Mbarara North Division, making her nomination even more questionable.

He describes this as a “clear violation of electoral laws and procedures,” emphasizing that the naming and recognition of electoral areas rest solely with the Electoral Commission, not candidates or local authorities.

“The misnaming of a constituency is not a minor clerical mistake,” Bwowe argues. “It’s a substantive legal defect that undermines the entire nomination process.”

He now wants the Commission to declare that Nakawa West does not legally exist, nullify all seven nominations, and declare him elected unopposed as the only validly nominated candidate for Nakawa Division West, in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections Act.

The Nakawa Division West seat is one of the most competitive constituencies in Kampala due to its political diversity and the high-profile nature of the contenders. ranging from former media personalities and political activists to serving government officials.

The constituency is currently represented by Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament and one of the respondents in Bwowe’s petition.

Bwowe, contesting under the Patriotic Front for Freedom (PFF) ticket, personally prepared and filed the petition before serving the EC and all affected candidates on Friday.

He insists that the law must be applied strictly, warning that allowing candidates to run in a non-existent constituency would set a dangerous precedent for Uganda’s electoral process.

Reacting to the petition, Herbert Anderson Burora, the NRM candidate in the race, dismissed Bwowe’s claims as baseless.

“It defeats both common sense and logic for anyone to claim that the Electoral Commission nominated candidates for a non-existent constituency,” said Burora. He added that if the EC verified, signed, and stamped the nomination papers, it effectively acknowledged the existence of that constituency. “You cannot recognize and nullify what you’ve already validated.”

He further advised that anyone aggrieved by the EC’s actions should sue the Commission in court, instead of disputing the legitimacy of duly nominated candidates.

Meanwhile, EC Legal Counsel, Hamidu Lugoloobi, explained that electoral complaints must follow the proper procedure outlined under Section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act.

“A complainant must first file the matter with the EC,” Lugoloobi clarified. “Only after the Commission has determined the issue can one appeal to the High Court. Any attempt to bypass that process is procedurally unacceptable and cannot be entertained by court.”

This is not Bwowe’s first brush with election disputes. The former Makerere University Guild President contested as an independent candidate for Buyamba County, Rakai District in 2016 but lost to Amos Mandela.

He later petitioned the High Court in Masaka, challenging Mandela’s academic qualifications, arguing that his UNEB documents bore the name Amos Nandela instead of Amos Mandela.

Justice Lawrence Gidudu nullified Mandela’s victory, ruling that the inconsistencies were unjustifiable. However, the Court of Appeal, led by then Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma, later reinstated Mandela’s win.

Bwowe’s current petition regarding Nakawa West has yet to be assigned to a magistrate. Once allocated, the case will be scheduled for hearing to determine whether the EC erred in accepting the contested nominations.

If successful, the ruling could have far-reaching implications for future elections and the interpretation of electoral area demarcations in Uganda.