A total of 118 election petitions arising from the January 2026 General Election have been filed before the High Court, setting the stage for what the Judiciary expects to be a busy season of election-related litigation.
According to Justice Prof. Andrew Khaukha, the Executive Director of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI), the majority of the petitions challenge parliamentary election results.
“Out of the 118 election petitions filed, 107 are parliamentary election petitions, while 11 relate to local council elections,” Justice Khaukha revealed on Thursday during a training session for justices of the Court of Appeal on the handling and disposal of election appeals.
“It’s from these that we expect to process the appeals from the High Court,” he added
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The training comes as the Court of Appeal prepares to handle what is expected to be a significant number of appeals from candidates dissatisfied with High Court decisions. Under the law, the Court of Appeal is the final arbiter of parliamentary and local government election disputes.
Chief Justice Flavian Zeija cautioned the appellate judges to brace for a flood of appeals once the High Court concludes hearing the petitions.
“My lords, I must warn you in advance that you will be getting many appeals. I already know what has been filed at the High Court, and I can tell you that because the law has that cushion that when you appeal, you remain in Parliament; even those who have obviously lost will come here,” Chief Justice Zeija said.
Judiciary records indicate that the current election cycle has registered more parliamentary election petitions than the previous one. During the 2021-2026 electoral cycle, 104 parliamentary election petitions were filed across the country, compared to 107 in the current cycle.
However, the number of local government election petitions has significantly declined. While 49 petitions challenging local council elections were filed after the 2021 polls, only 11 have been lodged following the January 2026 elections.
When contacted about when the petitions would begin to be heard, Judiciary spokesperson Mr James Ereemye last evening simply said: “Soon.”
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The training session also turned into a forum for senior judicial officers to scrutinise the Electoral Commission over alleged shortcomings in the conduct of the January 2026 elections.
Electoral Commission officials, including Head of Legal Ms Jennifer Angeyo and Head of Data Management Mr Ahmed Abdallah Ochama, faced tough questions from the judges regarding the failure of biometric voter verification kits and other electoral challenges.
Justice Oscar Kihika expressed concern over recurring electoral management problems, saying they had eroded public confidence in the Commission.
“The mistakes are made every time; it’s like you don’t learn from your previous mistakes. The citizenry does not have confidence in the Electoral Commission; how can this be remedied?” Justice Kihika asked.
The judge also criticised the limited role played by candidates’ agents during tallying exercises, arguing that the process often excludes meaningful participation, particularly by opposition representatives.
“The agents in that room are literally passengers. They are not involved in the process. What they do is look at the screen and compare the figures being displayed with what they have,” he said.
Justice Kihika cited his experience as a former practising advocate representing the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), recalling an election petition arising from the Kayunga District Woman MP by-election involving Harriet Nakwedde of the largest opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) against NRM’s Andrew Muwonge.
“Had that matter gone to the merits, the nonsense that was happening at the tally centre was very shameful. The tallying process was actually hijacked, figures were turned around, and there were a lot of games,” he said.
The High Court in Mukono and the Court of Appeal both dismissed Ms Nakwedde’s petition on the technicality of having filed it outside the stipulated time of seven days.
Responding to the concerns, Mr Ochama promised to provide feedback on the issues raised.
Justice Musa Ssekaana also highlighted discrepancies in declaration forms as a major source of election disputes and proposed reforms aimed at improving consistency and transparency.
“I propose that we have one original declaration form, and the rest be carbon copies if we are to resolve these discrepancies,” Justice Ssekaana said.