The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party has accused Electoral Commission (EC) Returning Officers of connivance and negligence in failing to collate results from all polling stations. The party warned that the practice is used to overturn voters’ will through court petitions.
According to Robert Franco Centenary, the party Vice Chairperson in charge of Western Uganda, the Returning Officers deliberately fail to add all polling stations before declaring winners, creating a window for losing candidates to petition results in court.
While addressing journalists on Monday, November 2nd, 2026, Centenary cited the 2016 Kyadondo County East election, where he said FDC’s Apollo Kantinti won convincingly, but the Returning Officer failed to add eight polling stations. The omission was exploited by NRM’s Sitenda Ssebalu, who successfully petitioned the result in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, leading to the election being set aside and a by-election.
According to Centenary, the same incident has been repeated in Gomba East Constituency in the 2026 parliamentary election petition. He said NRM’s Dr. Kalule dragged the winner and the Electoral Commission to the High Court in Mpigi, challenging the election of NUP’s Godfrey Saazi as duly elected MP for Gomba East on grounds that the Returning Officer of Gomba District failed to add nine polling stations to the total tally. Centenary noted that the Court cited the Kyadondo East precedent.
Centenary condemned what he described as negligence that overturns the will of the people. He called upon Parliament to enact electoral reforms where electoral officials found guilty of such acts are held personally liable for the offence and made to pay costs.
This, he argued, would deter officials who connive with losing candidates or act out of negligence, and save the Electoral Commission from paying colossal sums in costs for maladministration.
Centenary, however, said that FDC stands in solidarity with all its leaders defending their victories in court, like Denis Amere Onekalit of Kitgum Municipality, who is defending his win against NRM Minister Beatrice Atim Anywar, and others challenging flawed electoral outcomes.
By press time, the Electoral Commission had not yet organized a response to the party’s allegations.
