KAMPALA – The Supreme Court has set February 6 for the hearing of a petition in which the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission are challenging a decision by the Constitutional Court to nullify the election of legislators for six newly created municipalities.
On December 27, 2019, a panel of five Constitutional Court judges ordered six legislators from the newly created Sheema, Bugiri, Nebbi, Kotido, Ibanda and Apac municipalities to vacate Parliament on grounds that they were elected for nonexistent constituencies. But the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission appealed the move.
And now in a notice issued by acting Assistant Supreme Court Registrar Esther Nansambu, Justices Esther Kisaakye, Stella Arach Amoko, Opio Aweri, Lillian Tibatemwa, Richard Buteera, Paul Mugamba and Mike Chibita will listen to the appeal on February 6th, 2020 in the morning hours.
In its application, the Electoral Commission says it will argue its case based on the affidavit of one of their lawyer Hamidu Lugoolobi, who says that the Constitutional Court exercised the jurisdiction vested in it with material irregularity or injustice.
The Commission and Government also contend that the results of the lower court infringed on other elections envisaged under the constitution because of its directive that no seats should be created after the conclusion of General elections.
In the December judgment, the Constitutional Court noted the affected legislators stood for non-existent positions because the administrative units in their constituencies hadn’t been demarcated by Electoral Commission, which is vested with the powers to do so in as far as the law is concerned.
The affected are Apac Municipality Member of Parliament, Patrick Ocan, Sheema Municipality MP, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, Ibanda Municipality MP, Tarsis Rwaburindore Bishanga, Nebbi Municipality MP, Hashim Sulaiman, Kotido Municipality MP, Abrahams Lokii and their Bugiri Municipality counterpart, Asuman Basalirwa.
