UPC’s Aguti declared winner of Dokolo MP by-election
Ms Sarah Aguti Nyangkori casts her ballot at Apenyoweo Primary School Polling Station in Okwongodul Sub-county on March 21, 2024. PHOTO/ BILL OKETCH
What you need to know:
- Political commentators said Dr Alwoc has lived in the United Kingdom and that she was not very well acquainted with Dokolo, but Ogwal’s son Moses Otyek disagreed, saying his sister understands their late mother’s heart.
The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) candidate in the Dokolo District Woman parliamentary by-election was last evening declared the winner in the hotly contested election with 23,044 votes.
Yesterday’s polls attracted six candidates in the race to replace the late Cecilia Ogwal whose seat fell vacant following her death on January 18.
They included UPC’s Sarah Aguti Nyangkori, the winner; the late Ogwal’s daughter, Dr Austin Rosemary Alwoc of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party who got 8168 votes; Ms Harriet Ageno of National Unity Platform (NUP) with 727 votes; and Ms Janet Rose Adongo Elau Okello of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party wo gunnered 14,001 votes. Others were Dr Esther Akullo Obot Otada with 790 votes and Ms Rebecca Arao with 439 votes, who both contested on Independent tickets.
Surprisingly, UPC even won by landslide at a polling station where the late Ogwal used to vote from, according to Oyam North county Member of Parliament, Dr Eunice Apio Otuko,
However, the leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat, was quick to allege that the exercise was characterised by electoral malpractice.
“We experienced cases of voter bribery happening along the roads, and ferrying voters to the polling stations,” he said.
There are 173 polling stations in Dokolo and at least 95,693 voters registered to participate in this parliamentary by-election.
About Aguti
She is a social worker and a graduate of Social Works and Social Administration from Uganda Christian University, Mukono.
She emerged as UPC official flag bearer following the party District Conference held at Dokolo Catholic Parish on February 19, 2024.
She contested against Cecilia Ogwal in the 2021 District Woman parliamentary race and lost the election. The late Ogwal retained her seat after she contested on FDC ticket and garnered 32,223 votes against UPC’s Aguti’s 10,460 votes of the total votes cast in the hotly contested race.
