Wakilii

Bwowe Ivan v Electoral Commission and Others (Pre-Election Petition Appeal No. 5 of 2025)

High Court · [2026] UGHCCD 5 · 2026 Petition Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Pre-election petition appeal from Electoral Commission decision upholding nomination of candidates
Decision
Petition dismissed; Electoral Commission decision upholding nominations affirmed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the failure by candidates to fill in the correct name of the constituency (Nakawa West instead of Nakawa Division West) was a minor irregularity or misnomer curable by the Electoral Commission under section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act and section 29(2) of the Parliamentary Elections Act. The control form signed by all candidates correctly identified the constituency as Nakawa Division West. Substantive justice requires that candidates not be disqualified on account of clerical errors that can be and were corrected. Petition dismissed.

Outcome

Petition dismissed; Electoral Commission decision upholding nominations affirmed

Facts

The Petitioner and the 2nd-8th Respondents were nominated by the Electoral Commission to contest for Member of Parliament for Nakawa Division West Constituency. The 2nd-8th Respondents filled their nomination forms stating the constituency as 'Nakawa West' instead of 'Nakawa Division West'. The Petitioner lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission alleging that the 2nd-8th Respondents were nominated for a non-existent constituency. After a hearing, the Electoral Commission dismissed the complaint, finding that the control form signed by all candidates correctly identified the constituency as Nakawa Division West, that all candidates intended to campaign in the same geographical area, and that the error had been corrected. The Petitioner appealed to the High Court seeking to have the nominations of the 2nd-8th Respondents nullified and to be declared the only validly nominated candidate.

Issues

  1. Whether the Electoral Commission validly upheld the decision of the Returning Officer in nominating the 2nd-8th Respondents.
  2. What remedies are available.

Orders

  • Petition dismissed.
  • Electoral Commission's decision upholding the nomination of the 2nd-8th Respondents is upheld.
  • Each party to meet their own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Electoral Law — Nomination of Candidates — Clerical Errors — Power of Electoral Commission to Correct
The failure by candidates to fill in the correct name of a constituency on nomination forms is a minor irregularity or misnomer which can be cured by the Electoral Commission under section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act and section 29(2) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, where the control form and other documents correctly identify the constituency and there is no confusion as to the candidates' intention.
Electoral Law — Nomination of Candidates — Substantive Justice over Technicalities
Courts must administer substantive justice without undue regard to technicalities under Article 126(2)(e) of the Constitution. Candidates should not be disqualified on account of clerical errors that can be and were corrected by the Electoral Commission, particularly where such disqualification would deny voters the opportunity to choose their representative.
Electoral Law — Pre-Election Petitions — Grounds for Nullifying Nominations
A nomination will not be nullified where the alleged irregularity is a clerical error in the name of the constituency on nomination forms, the control form correctly identifies the constituency, all candidates including the petitioner signed the control form, and there is evidence that the constituency names were used interchangeably without causing confusion.
Administrative Law — Electoral Commission — Powers to Resolve Complaints and Correct Irregularities
Under section 15(1) of the Electoral Commission Act, the Electoral Commission has power to examine and decide complaints alleging irregularities in the electoral process, and where an irregularity is confirmed, to take necessary action to correct the irregularity and any effects it may have caused.

Legislation cited (37)

Cases cited (6)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Bwowe Ivan v Electoral Commission and Others (Pre-Election Petition Appeal No. 5 of 2025) [2026] UGHCCD 5 (8 January 2026)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.