Speaker Oulanyah declared winner of Omoro county, opposition order vote recount

Deputy Speaker of parliament comes out of the tallying room after the Electoral commission announced he had won Omoro county MP race. Photo by Okello Stephen

GULU. Drama ensued when the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mr Jacob Oulanyah was on Friday evening declared winner for Omoro Constituency MP, by the Electoral Commission Returning Officer, Benson Obete without details of vote’s statistics.

Mr Oulanyah contested with Mr Simon Toolit Akecha (FDC) in the race for Omoro County and according to EC resistrar; the deputy speaker had a landslide win although there were no statistics.
The dramatic announcement came a day after the electoral body failed to tally results from the 332 polling stations in the district after ballot boxes reportedly pre-ticked were intercepted by opposition members in Lakwana sub-county headoffice allegedly with damaged seals.

While declaring the results, Mr Obete, who faced an audience at the Gulu District Council Hall that comprised foreign election observers, journalists, locals’ leaders and vigilantes said he had the power mandadted upon him to declare the polls results and some of the winners.
“With the power vested upon me, I now want to read to you the names of the candidates who won,” Mr Obete said sparking outrage from the audience who demeanded that he produces the results forthwith when he calls a camdidate's name.

The Incumbent Gulu Woman Mmber of Parliament, Betty Aol Ocan was also declared winner without statistics.
Others candidates declared include Aswa County MP Reagan Okumu, who was in the race with Christopher Acire, Peter Okot who is said to have won in Tochi County and Lyandro Komakech who is said to have won in the Gulu Municipality race.

The move by Mr Obete to announce the candidates without substancial statistics however sparked off a mini protest where youth supporters of Mr Akecha who is reported to have been won by Oulanyah confronted police, singing songs mocking Oulanyahs ‘broad day light cheating'; Opposition leader’s reaction Mr Norbert Mao the DP Party president told Daily Monitor that they will not accept the insults by the electoral body.

“This is like a child that comes back from school and tells the parents that ‘mummy, I have passed’ yet the reports cards are not there. We shall not accept this at all,” Mr Mao said.
By press time, the ballot papers for Mr Oulanyah and Toolit Akecha were being recounted at the tally centre.