The Electoral Commission has cancelled the candidature of two candidates for the by-election of District Chairperson, Busia District.
According to a statement signed by the EC chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama, NRM’s Boniface Paul Oguttu and DP’s Habusi Njoki are no longer in the race.
NRM’s Boniface Paul Oguttu has been disqualified from the race on grounds that the names in the nomination papers he presented during nominations do not match the names on the requisite academic documents accompanying his nomination papers.
Relatedly, the candidature of Democratic Party’s Deogratius Hasubi Njoki has been cancelled because the names under which he was nominated are not in the National Voters Register.
Background
The Electoral Commission (EC) recently received a petition from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party challenging the nomination of Njoki who is the Opposition candidate in the by-election for the Busia district chairperson’s seat.
The NRM petitioned EC, alleging that the nomination of Mr Hasubi Deogratias Njoki of the Democratic Party, who is also the joint opposition candidate, was illegal.
In the petition, the NRM legal team argued that Mr Njoki’s National ID and academic documents belonged to two different persons.
NRM reacts
Mr Rogers Mulindwa, a communications manager at the NRM secretariat had this to say:
We are in receipt of the news of the cancellation of our official candidate Mr. Paul Boniface Oguttu from contesting for the Busia District seat.
At a moment we are yet to receive the legal interpretation of the ruling from our legal team and thereafter the Rt. Hon. Secretary General will brief the Central Executive Committee (CEC) on the same.
We shall get back to the public with the official position after the guidance from the CEC.