The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Constitutional Court banning midterm elections on grounds that it is illegal.
This was in a majority decision of five Justices against two delivered yesterday by the Supreme Court Registrar Harriet Ssali Lukwago on behalf of the majority Justices Mike Chibita, Percy Night Tuhaise, Ezekiel Muhanguzi, Paul Mugamba, and Faith Mwondha.
The decision arises from two consolidated appeals filed by the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General and another from six members of Parliament who were then elected to represent people in newly created constituencies in elections held in 2018.
After the creation of the municipalities, the Bufumbiro East MP Eddie Kwizera petitioned the Constitutional Court challenging the legality of the process leading to their creation.
In their judgment, the Constitutional Court Justices led by the then Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo agreed with Kwizera and threw out the MPs arguing that their constituencies were created after the 2016 general elections.
As such, the Constitutional Court Justice Christopher Madrama who wrote the court’s decision accordingly declared the seats of the six MPs, non-existent, vacant, and therefore illegal.
However, the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General appealed against the ruling in the Supreme Court.
In their Judgment, the Majority Supreme Court Justices upheld the Constitutional Court decision and accordingly, the Court dismissed the consolidated appeals and ordered that the government, Electoral Commission, and the legislators to pay costs to Kwizera.
