The three aspirants for Bukedea Woman MP seat whose nomination lies in limbo after their names were deleted from the voters register on recommendation of the tribunal have questioned if the Electoral Commission will accord them a fair hearing, saying there is more than the eye can see.
The aspirants through their lawyers appeared before the EC tribunal in Kampala on Thursday, after they were sued by Zipporah Akol for showing interest in contesting for the seat yet they aren’t registered voters of Bukedea District.
The suit against Hellen Odeke Akol, Norma Susan Otai of FDC, and Mercy Marion Alupo of National Unity Platform and Electoral commission, was meant to have been heard on September 29, 2025 by Kampala High Court, but in vain.
On Wednesday, the EC which is also respondent in the suit, summoned the three aspirants for tribunal hearing at the EC headquarters on the matter surrounding the deletion of their names from the register.
Ms Otai said that after the meeting with the EC where she was represented by her lawyer, they instead sent her back to the tribunal in Bukedea which in the first place deleted their names.
She said that the electoral tribunal is a set up and its mandate expired after 10 -11 days of the voter register display.
‘The law works prospectively not retrospectively, therefore the tribunal’s mandate has been overtaken by events,’ Ms Otai said, adding that the independence of the EC is questionable.
Ms Odeke said that she chose to send her lawyer because she didn’t want to go and listen to lies.
‘There is nothing good in that place, I didn’t want to go and listen to people telling lies. From the time I was blocked from the NRM primaries, I chose to sit back, I am waiting to see if they will reinstate my name in the register or not,’ she noted.
Ms Alupo on her part said that she will fight on until the last day for her right to participate in the national elections.
‘We shall not be alienated from this right, just because some people fear competition, EC should exercise fairness,’ she said.
The incumbent Woman MP for Bukedea District is the current Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among.