Election Petitions of Uganda - 2011

18 judgments
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18 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
November 2011
Petitioner failed to prove falsified results, intimidation, bribery or lack of academic qualification; petition dismissed with costs.
Parliamentary election petition – non-compliance with electoral laws – substantial effect on results – allegations of falsification of tallies; election offences – intimidation and bribery – evidential standard in election petitions; qualification for nomination – authenticity of examination certificates – UNEB technical evidence; remedy – dismissal and costs.
30 November 2011
Petitioner failed to prove unlawful nomination, bribery or electoral malpractice sufficiently to annul the parliamentary election result.
Election law – standard of proof in election petitions (balance of probabilities but heightened "to the satisfaction of the Court"); admissibility of affidavits and hearsay in election petitions; nomination requirements for public officers; illegal practices (bribery, undue influence, multiple voting) and need for cogent independent evidence; ballot pre‑ticking/ballot‑stuffing allegations; duties of the Electoral Commission to ensure free and fair elections; assessment of whether irregularities substantially affected results.
14 November 2011
October 2011
Election voided for proven bribery; by-election ordered and costs awarded to the petitioner.
Election law – Parliamentary Elections Act – bribery and illegal practices; proof on a higher civil (balance of probabilities) standard; single proven illegal practice vitiates election; withdrawal of petition as to Electoral Commission for lack of evidence; by-election ordered and costs awarded to petitioner.
13 October 2011
4 October 2011
September 2011
Court annulled the election due to non‑compliance and disenfranchisement of voters at six polling stations.
* Electoral law – non‑compliance – exclusion and cancellation of polling station returns – disenfranchisement; s.53(3)–(4) PEA. * Electoral administration – control of ballot papers – discrepancies, multiple voting and cancelled polling station results. * Elections – substantial effect test – excluded votes exceeding margin of victory warrants annulment. * Illegal practices – voter intimidation/violence proved but not attributed to candidate or his agents with knowledge/consent. * Bribery – requires cogent, uncontroverted evidence and proof of agent status and candidate approval. * Remedies – annulment of election, fresh election ordered, Electoral Commission liable for petitioner’s costs and certificate for two counsel.
23 September 2011
23 September 2011
Fraudulent foreign diploma vitiated university degree, respondent lacked required A‑level equivalent, election annulled; fresh poll ordered.
Election law; qualification for nomination – A-level equivalence; fraudulent academic certificates – burden of proof under Evidence Act s.106; contagion effect of forged certificate vitiating admission and degree; validity/licensing of awarding institutions; NCHE verification process.
2 September 2011
Petitioner failed to prove electoral malpractices; recount refused due to tampered boxes and lack of prima facie case.
Parliamentary elections — Allegations of bias, collusion, vote invalidation, disenfranchisement, ballot‑box tampering — Recount — Prima facie requirement and sealed ballot boxes — Burden of proof in election petitions.
2 September 2011
August 2011
Applicant failed to prove substantial non-compliance; election result upheld despite some unsigned DR forms.
Election law – compliance with Parliamentary Elections Act – alleged partisan officiating, falsification and wrongful invalidation of ballots – recount discretion under s.63(5) – declaration of results (DR) forms/signatures – standard of proof on balance of probabilities – manufactured/identical affidavits undermine credibility.
10 August 2011
Applicant failed to prove electoral irregularities substantially affected the LC III election; respondent's election declared valid; costs shared.
Local Government elections – s139 grounds for setting aside elections – burden and standard of proof (balance of probabilities); admissibility of affidavits – requirement of personal knowledge (Order 19 r3); Declaration of Results (DR) forms and polling registers as primary proof; bribery – must prove recipient was a registered voter and attach voter ID/polling register; illegal practices (bribery, undue influence, ballot stuffing) require cogent, corroborated evidence; defective or inconsistent affidavit in reply may render an answer unsupported.
8 August 2011
July 2011
28 July 2011
Alleged multiple voting and falsified returns were proven insufficient to substantially affect the election; petition dismissed with costs.
Electoral law – alleged multiple voting and votes by deceased persons – discrepancies in polling station ballot-accountability and declaration forms – burden to prove falsification and substantial effect on result – petition dismissed.
27 July 2011
Petitioner failed to prove substantial electoral non-compliance or illegal practices; petition dismissed with costs.
Electoral law – election petition; burden of proof on petitioner (balance of probabilities); non-compliance and illegal practices must be proved and be substantial to vitiate results; recount discretionary and requires evidence of widescale irregularities; procedural defects in pleadings not necessarily fatal if substantial rights can be determined.
21 July 2011
A prior s.236 assault conviction did not amount to moral turpitude; election stood and petition dismissed with costs.
Electoral law – qualification for office – Article 80(2)(f): requires conviction by a competent court within seven years; pending revision does not negate conviction; definition of "moral turpitude" – ordinary meaning, reasonable‑man/community standard, mens rea and context determine classification; assault occasioning actual bodily harm (s.236) not per se a crime of moral turpitude – depends on facts; remedies for disqualification not available where no CIMT found.
21 July 2011
Election petition dismissed: the respondent had requisite academic qualifications and bribery allegations were unproven.
Electoral law – election petition – standard of proof higher than ordinary civil cases; qualification disputes – acceptance of statutory declaration and institutional verification to authenticate academic certificates; hearsay inadmissible to prove electoral malpractices; burden on petitioner to prove fraud or unlawful practices.
4 July 2011
June 2011
24 June 2011
Court held it cannot extend the Act’s thirty-day statutory period for filing an election petition; applicant’s delay was dilatory.
* Election law – time limits – Section 60(3) Parliamentary Elections Act – statutory thirty-day filing period cannot be enlarged by Rule 19. * Civil procedure – enlargement of time – Rule 19 applies to times fixed by Rules, not times fixed by statute; requires existing proceedings. * "Special circumstances" – must relate to inability to take a procedural step; dilatory conduct and fishing expeditions are not special circumstances. * Qualifications – NCHE verification for foreign A-levels under Section 4(6) not applicable where higher Ugandan qualifications exist (Section 4(13)). * Remedies – complainants should use Electoral Commission’s complaint mechanisms for alleged electoral fraud prior to or within statutory timelines.
23 June 2011
April 2011
29 April 2011