The Court of Appeal has announced Joyce Bagala of the National Unity Platform as the valid elected Woman Member of Parliament for Mityana district.
This overturns the high court judgment that had nullified her victory challenged by the Lands minister Judith Nabakooba of the National Resistance Movement.
The court High Court’s decision had based on grounds of bribery in a ruling made in Mubende last year ruled that there was voter bribery, multiple voting during the January 14 polls in Mityana committed by Bagala or her agents.
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The former NBS TV journalist, Joyce Bagala beat Lands Minister Nabakooba in the January 14 polls for the Mityana Woman MP position prompting the latter to challenge the election in court.
Bagala challenged the same in the Court of Appeal which on Friday morning made a judgement .
In the judgment, a panel of three justices including Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Stephen Musota and Christopher Gashirabake reasoned with Bagala and Electoral Commission’s lawyers that the lower court was wrong to throw her out and order a fresh election.
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The three justices said that the onus to prove the effect of the said non-compliance on the outcome of the election lay on Nabakooba’s side but noted this was not done.
“Both the quantitative and qualitative tests should have been applied in filing of the non-compliance with electoral laws by Nabakooba. The claimant however didn’t show how the non-compliance would have changed the outcome of the election results,” the justices ruled.
The court condemned Minister Nabakooba to costs as Joyce Bagala was confirmed as Mityana Woman MP.
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