The High Court in Mubende suspended the recount in a parliamentary election petition after candidates failed to produce records of ballot box seals, raising questions about the handling of election materials.
The High Court in Mubende has halted a planned recount of votes in the Kassanda South parliamentary election petition after the parties failed to produce records showing the seals placed on ballot boxes after the election.
Justice Mary Babirye suspended the exercise after lawyers for National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Hajj Abdul Bisaso challenged the recount, arguing that candidates had not received the documentation needed to verify the seals.
The dispute arose as ballot boxes arrived at the court under tight security, with a convoy of security vehicles delivering the election materials at about 7:30am.
Access to the court premises was heavily restricted, with security personnel screening visitors. Deputy Registrar Rogers Kinobe was reportedly questioned before being allowed through the checkpoints, while former Kassanda South MP and National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Frank Kabuye also faced scrutiny before gaining access.
Senior security officials at the court included Wamala Regional Police Commander Godfrey Achiria, regional police spokesperson Lameck Kigozi and Mubende District Police Commander Umar Mugerwa.
Kigozi said the deployment followed intelligence indicating that some people intended to disrupt the proceedings.
“We got information from our intelligence that some people wanted to disrupt the process and cause chaos at court. The heavy deployment is meant to keep the situation calm,” Kigozi said.
The court session began amid tension as lawyers for the candidates disagreed over whether the recount should proceed without the seal records.
Harunah Ssewaya, counsel for Bisaso, asked the court to first examine the documentation, citing Justice Babirye's October 14 ruling directing the Electoral Commission to present the relevant records before the recount.
“My Lord, in your ruling of October 14, you directed the Electoral Commission to present the records of the seals before the process starts. We object to bringing the ballot boxes before this court because we do not know who handled them at the Electoral Commission,” Ssewaya said.
However, Caleb Alaka, counsel for independent candidate Eria Mubiru, opposed the objection, arguing that the application sought to challenge the court's earlier decision.
“My Lord, counsel cannot seek to overturn the court's own decision informally under the guise of an objection. I believe this is in bad faith and should be dismissed,” Alaka argued.
Justice Babirye then asked Electoral Commission lawyer Eric Ssabiiti to clarify the matter. Ssabiiti said the relevant details were contained in his report on the Kassanda South elections.
The judge directed the parties to produce documentation showing the seals placed on the ballot boxes and gave them 10 minutes to present the records.
However, the required documents were not produced within the allotted time, forcing the judge to halt the recount.
Bisaso welcomed the decision, claiming that the seals on the ballot boxes differed from those the candidates had received.
“I want to thank God because today the Lord has reigned. We were surprised to find that the ballot seals had changed and were different from what we received. I still believe in Him that we shall always be winners,” Bisaso said.
His lawyer, Ssewaya Harunah, said the court had acted correctly by suspending the recount until the seal records were produced, arguing that the absence of documentation raised concerns about the handling and safe custody of election materials under the Parliamentary Elections Act.
“We are very happy because the court has upheld the true spirit of the law under Section 71 of the Parliamentary Elections Act. Election materials must be kept safe, and without records showing the movement of the ballot boxes from January 15 until their delivery to court, the judge could not proceed,” Ssewaya said.
Caleb Alaka, counsel for independent candidate Eria Mubiru, also said the absence of certified copies of the seal records raised questions about the integrity of the ballot boxes.
“Each candidate should have been given a copy. Unfortunately, it emerged today that none of the candidates had received copies of the serial numbers. This put the integrity of the ballot boxes in doubt, and the judge could not proceed with the recount,” Alaka said.
Alaka urged Mubiru's supporters not to be discouraged, arguing that the failure to provide the records raised concerns about compliance with electoral requirements.
However, Electoral Commission lawyer Eric Ssabiiti rejected claims that the commission had failed to comply with the court's directions, saying the relevant information had been included in its report.
“The court had asked for the seals at delivery, and we produced them in our report. It was the candidates' duty to produce their records of the seals. If you read our records, you can find them there,” Ssabiiti said.