By Shafick Kateregga
LIRA – Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) President Jimmy Akena has criticized the Electoral Commission for delaying the official gazetting of Erias Luyimbazi Nalukoola as the Member of Parliament for Kawempe North.
Nalukoola, who ran under the National Unity Platform (NUP), was declared the winner of the March 13 by-election with 17,764 votes, defeating Faridah Nambi of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), who secured 8,593 votes.
Akena dismissed the Electoral Commission’s claim that financial constraints were preventing the gazetting process, calling it “a joke.”
“I believe the Electoral Commission is under pressure not to complete the process of the by-election because to say that there’s no money for gazetting is a joke. Kawempe, despite the efforts to suppress the vote, the people came out and voted and made their position clear,” he said.
He argued that the Commission’s longstanding relationship with the Uganda Gazette should allow for flexibility in payment arrangements to ensure administrative procedures do not hinder the democratic process.
“It’s an honest joke because I honestly believe the relationship which the Electoral Commission has had with the gazette over some time. You can even have this issue of gazetting, and you pay at a later stage, so it’s not serious,” Akena said.
The UPC leader urged the Electoral Commission to remain neutral and respect the electorate’s will by finalizing the process. He emphasized the need for political stability as the 2026 general elections approach.
“As for our colleagues in the NRM, you are not going to win every election. This election you lost, accept the loss, and we move on because 2026 is around the corner. If this is the way we’re going to handle our politics, it’s definitely not going to go well. So the Electoral Commission should get serious and get it done,” he said.
Akena warned that the delay in gazetting the winner puts both the Electoral Commission and the ruling government under public scrutiny.
He stressed that the events of the by-election were witnessed in real-time, and any failure to fulfill institutional duties could erode trust in Uganda’s democratic processes.
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