PALIISA – The Electoral Commission (EC) has cancelled the candidature of FDC’s Catherine Achola for the Pallisa Woman MP seat and declared the remaining candidate, NRM’s Faith Alupo unopposed.
According to a letter dated June 19 from the district registrar, Mr Charles Rebero, Achola’s names have many inconsistencies and they do not match those on the academic documents she presented during her nomination.
Mr Rebero was implementing a directive contained in a letter from the EC chairman, Justice Simon Byabakama, who had indicated that the FDC candidate “did not furnish evidence to show there was compliance with the law when you adopted the said names at the time of registration for the national ID card in 2015 as you stated before the commission”.
When contacted, Ms Achola protested the EC decision and vowed to go to court.
“We are going to court to solve the matter and to stop the NRM party from taking seat using their political maneuvers,” she said.
The Pallisa Woman MP seat fell vacant after the current MP, Ms Agnes Amede, decided to remain in the new district of Butebo after it was carved out of Pallisa in 2017.
Only two candidates had been nominated for the race after the other candidates, Ms Josephine Ibaseret (independent), Ms Kevin Kaala Ojinga (independent) and Ms Betty Badda (independent), had earlier pulled out of the race before nomination.
