Lango sub-region has indeed saved the day for Uganda’s oldest opposition party, Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), securing 12 parliamentary seats in the 12th Parliament. This impressive comeback is a testament to UPC’s strong grassroots presence and strategic mobilisation in the region.
UPC’s winning MPs include: Woman MP seats – Dokolo (incumbent Sarah Aguti Nyangkori), Amolatar (newcomer, Janet Auma Okao), Oyam (incumbent, Santa Sandra Alum Ogwang), and Kwania (incumbent, Kenny Auma).
Directly-elected seats include: Dokolo South (Vincent Opito), Oyam North (incumbent, Dr Eunice Apio Otuko), Kioga County (Colline Angwech), Kioga North (Geoffrey Ocen, Amolatar incumbent LC5 chairman), Maruzi County (Peter Obong Acuda), Moroti County (newcomer, Leo Elem), Ajuri County (newcomer, Fred Jalameso), and Lira City West Division (incumbent, Vincent Shedrick Obong).
In Dokolo, UPC’s Opito unseated the incumbent Dokolo South MP, Felix Okot Ogong of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Mr Okot is the longest-serving MP in the entire Lango Sub-region, having been in office since 1996. The electoral margin-of-victory in Dokolo South stands at 6,863 votes, according to our computation. In fact, Mr Opito garnered 18,024 votes against Okot’s 11,161 votes.
In Alebtong, the incumbent Ajuri County MP, also the Government Chief Whip, Denis Hamson Obua, lost the seat he has held since 2011 to UPC’s Jalameso. Here, the margin-of-victory is 768 votes.
For the Dokolo Woman MP seat, Ms Aguti of UPC retained the seat after obtaining 36,720 votes. She was followed by NRM’s Janet Adong Elau, who polled 18,659 votes. In Kwania, the incumbent Woman MP Kenny Auma has made the Congress proud by retaining her seat, while in the neighbouring Amolatar District, Ms Janet Auma Okao is the Woman MP-elect.
UPC’s Geoffrey Ocen has been elected Kioga North MP, and in the neighbouring Kioga County, Ms Colline Angwech has unseated Mr Moses Junior Okot of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). In Lira, the incumbent Lira City West Division MP, Mr Vincent Shedrick Obong, has retained the seat he has held since 2021.
In Alebtong, NRM’s Samuel Okwir Odwee, who went to Parliament in 2016, lost the seat to UPC’s Leo Elem. In Oyam, Ms Alum Ogwang has retained the seat after beating NRM’s Jane Frances Acilo.
UPC’s resurgence in Lango is attributed to, among others, its focus on addressing local issues, such as inadequate healthcare and poor infrastructure. The party’s president, Mr Jimmy Akena, has been instrumental in revitalizing UPC’s presence in Lango, leveraging the region’s historical ties with the party.
This victory marks a significant shift in Lango’s political landscape, with UPC poised to reclaim its former glory. But will this momentum propel UPC to national prominence? Only time will tell.