The High court in Mpigi has nullified the election of National Unity Platform’s Godfrey Ssaazi as Gomba East MP. This is after finding that the destruction of electoral materials at nine polling stations substantially affected the outcome of the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election.In a judgment delivered by email on Monday, justice Jamson Karemani set aside Ssaazi’s election, declared the seat vacant and directed the Electoral Commission to organise a fresh election in the constituency.The ruling followed an election petition filed by National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Henry Kirumira Harris Kalule, who challenged Ssaazi’s victory, citing irregularities that he said undermined the credibility of the electoral process.Ssaazi was declared the winner with 10,907 votes against Kalule’s 9,156, giving him a margin of 1,751 votes. Through his lawyers, led by Jude Byamukama of JByamukama Advocates, Kalule challenged the exclusion of results from four polling stations and the disruption of voting, alongside the destruction of electoral materials, at nine others.The four polling stations whose results were excluded were Buyana Trading Centre, Tiginya SDA Primary School, Kiziba Trading Centre (NAKE-Z) and Buyinja Butoole Primary School B in Kigongo-Lugingi. They had a combined total of 959 registered voters.Kalule argued that voting had taken place at the stations and declaration of results forms had been completed and signed by candidates’ agents, but the results were not included in the final tally.Justice Karemani noted that the parties agreed the results had been omitted and that the available figures should be included in the final tally. The declaration forms showed that Kalule had received 453 votes from the four polling stations, while Ssaazi obtained 366.Including the votes would have increased Kalule’s total to 9,609 and Ssaazi’s to 11,273, leaving Ssaazi with a winning margin of 1,664 votes. The judge ruled that the omission, although contrary to electoral requirements, did not substantially affect the outcome because Ssaazi would still have won.The court reached a different conclusion over the nine polling stations where voting was disrupted and electoral materials destroyed. These were Ttaba Trading Centre, Buyebeyi C.O.U, Kimbo Catholic Church (A-NAKA), Kimbo Catholic Church (NAKE-Z), Serumbe UMEA Primary School A in Golola A, Jumbi C.O.U, Serumbe UMEA Primary School B in Kibaka, Kindimunda Playground and St Peter Primary School in Ngeribalya.Justice Karemani found that the votes from these stations could not be established, leaving the electoral choices of 4,387 registered voters unknown.The judge agreed with the respondents that it would be speculative to assume that all the registered voters had turned up or that they would have voted for Kalule. However, he observed that the candidates would have received votes, as they had at other polling stations, making it impossible to determine how the missing votes would have affected the final result.Citing Apollo Kantinti v Sitenda Sebalu and Another, Karemani said courts must consider the number of affected voters in relation to the margin separating candidates when determining whether electoral irregularities substantially affect an election.In this case, the judge noted that Ssaazi’s winning margin, after accounting for the omitted results, was 1,664 votes, less than half the number of registered voters whose electoral choices remained unknown.He consequently found that the non-compliance with electoral laws and principles had substantially affected the election outcome, warranting the nullification of Ssaazi’s victory.Ssaazi had maintained that the election was substantially free and fair and that the declared results reflected the will of the majority of voters. He denied responsibility for the disruption at the nine polling stations and instead blamed Kalule, his agents and supporters for the chaos that allegedly led to the destruction of electoral materials.Gomba district returning officer and the Electoral Commission attributed the omission of results from the four polling stations to a technical glitch discovered after polling. They maintained that the omission did not substantially affect the outcome.The two respondents also argued that the destruction of electoral materials at the nine polling stations affected all candidates equally and asked the court to dismiss the petition.Justice Karemani, however, held that the failure by the returning officer and the Electoral Commission to safeguard the electoral process contributed to the non-compliance with electoral requirements.The court set aside Ssaazi’s election, declared the seat vacant and directed the Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh poll. Each party was ordered to bear its own legal costs.The post NUP’s Godfrey Ssaazi thrown out of parliament as court orders fresh poll appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.