The high court in Soroti has set January 20, 2023 as the date it will decide on a matter where voters have dragged the electoral commission for allowing over 5000 voters to participate in the Soroti East By-elections yet they had previously voted in Soroti West Division.
A section of voters are querying the legality of Aloet and Opiyai wards who participated in Soroti East Division by-election yet they had already voted for Soroti City West MP.
Michael Enyangu and 3 others, through their lawyers Kaganzi & Co advocates expressed their dissatisfaction over what they called “unconstitutional acts and omissions” of not deleting 5,233 voters from the aforementioned two parishes.
“Following the above mentioned decision of the Court of Appeal, the EC on June 6 issued a programme for the by-election of the directly elected Member of Parliament for Soroti East Division Constituency and the voters in the parishes of Opiyai and Aloet estimated to be approximately 1,337 voters of Opiyai parish and 3,896 of Aloet parish are now slated to participate in this by-election,” reads in part the petition.
“Allowing the same voters from Opiyai and Aloet parishes to participate in the election yet their votes are part of the results declared on January 15, 2021 for the directly elected Soroti West Division Constituency is unconstitutional and contravenes the laws of the country,” they further stated.
According to the complainants, voters of the two parishes would be voting twice if they are allowed to participate in the by-election.
But while presiding over today’s session High Court Judge Justice Musa Ssekana gave the petitionners to file their written rejoinder by November 14, while the respondent’s legal team submits on November 21, and any other additional rejoinders on November 28, 2022.
The judgment day will be on January 20, 2022 at 11:30AM according to Justice Ssekana.