Wakilii

Tinka v Bigirwenkya & Anor (Election Civil Appeal Petition No. 007 of 2011)

High Court · [2011] UGHC 22 · 2011 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from Electoral Commission decision on candidate nomination challenge
Decision
Appeal dismissed; 1st respondent's nomination upheld as lawful

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a complaint addressed to the Returning Officer but made under s.15 of the Electoral Commission Act and responded to by the Commission Chairman constitutes a decision from which an appeal lies. A candidate who changed her name by deed poll after voter registration remains entitled to stand for election using her voter registration in her former name, provided the deed poll establishes identity between the former and new names.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; 1st respondent's nomination upheld as lawful

Facts

The petitioner challenged the nomination of the 1st respondent as Woman Councilor for Masindi District. The 1st respondent had registered as a voter under the name Itatume Jane. In July 2010, she executed a deed poll renouncing use of that name and adopting the name Bigirwenkya M. Beatrice. At nomination, she presented her voter's card (still in the name Itatume Jane) together with the deed poll. The petitioner complained to the Electoral Commission that the 1st respondent was not a registered voter under her new name and therefore ineligible to contest. The Electoral Commission responded maintaining the nomination was lawful. The petitioner appealed to the High Court seeking to nullify the nomination.

Issues

  1. Whether there was a complaint to the Electoral Commission from which the petition arose.
  2. Whether the 1st respondent was lawfully nominated as a candidate for Woman Councilor for Masindi District.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Electoral Commission — Complaints and Appeals — Standing to Appeal
A complaint addressed to a Returning Officer but brought under s.15 of the Electoral Commission Act and responded to by the Commission Chairman constitutes a decision of the Electoral Commission from which an appeal lies to the High Court, notwithstanding that the internal procedure under s.8 of the Act may not have been followed.
Candidate Nomination — Voter Registration — Change of Name by Deed Poll
A person who changes their name by deed poll after registering as a voter does not forfeit their rights to the voter registration in their former name. The deed poll suffices to establish that the person now known by the new name is the same person registered under the former name.
Candidate Nomination — Effect of Name Change on Eligibility
Where a candidate presents a voter's card in a former name together with a duly registered deed poll evidencing a change of name, the nomination is lawful. Renunciation of the use of a former name does not entail renunciation of all rights acquired under that name.

Legislation cited (9)

Full judgment

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

Tinka v Bigirwenkya & Anor (Election Civil Appeal Petition No. 007 of 2011) [2011] UGHC 22 (21 February 2011)
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.