Former Candidates Gear Up for Soroti City East By-Election

Former candidates who contested in the Soroti City East Member of Parliament race are gearing up for the by-election. 

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court judgment nullifying the election of Moses Attan as the Soroti City East Member of Parliament.   The Court of Appeal Judges Cheborion Barishaki, Stephen Musota, and Christopher Gashirabake also ordered Electoral Commission to conduct by-elections for Soroti City East.

According to the judgment read out by the Court of Appeal Registrar Susan Kanyange on behalf of the Justices, the demarcation of boundaries within the constituency was not properly done.

In 2021, the Soroti City East Division attracted six candidates. They were Attan of FDC who won with 7,606 votes, Herbert Edmund Ariko Okworo, an independent who garnered 7,167, and Jimmy Ekemu of NRM with 397 votes. The others were Sarah Oliver Inachu, an independent with 185 votes, James Herbert Yoweri Elaju of UPC with 99 votes, and Arnold Emachu of NUP with 86 votes.

The judgment was received with excitement by the former candidates who said that they will contest in the by-elections that are yet to be fixed.

Sarah Oliver Inachu, who was the only female candidate in the race said she is prepared for a re-run. 

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Ekemu, says that the by-election could be an opportunity for him to go to parliament.

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However, some voters in Soroti City East have welcomed the ruling with mixed reactions.

Grace Aguti, one of the voters says she is ready to vote for a candidate of her choice. She also demanded a free and fair election.

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But Recho Aseu, another voter says that the by-election will disrupt residents who have just settled for work. 

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When contacted, Attan said that he is ready for the polls.  “The electorate had given me the mandate to represent them but some people want to take it away, I will come back to the voters and they will decide”, he said on phone.   

The Tuesday judgment arose from an appeal filed by Attan challenging the Soroti High Court decision that had ordered him out of Parliament and allowed a by-election in Soroti City East Constituency following a petition by Herbert Edmund Ariko.

Last year, Soroti High Court Judge Anne Mugenyi nullified the victory of Attan on grounds that his election was conducted in non-existent wards of Aloet and Opiyai which disenfranchised the rights of over 5,000 voters.