The High Court in Soroti District has today Tuesday ordered for a fresh election for Soroti East Division Member of Parliament seat.
This ruling was made on grounds that the election was not held in conformity with the electoral laws as the matter of city boundaries which were fraudulently altered, denied the petitioner’s voters chance to participate in the exercise.
The Electoral Commission (EC) on January 14, 2021 declared Moses Attan Okia of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Soroti City East with 7606 votes against Herbert Edmund Ariko who got 7167 votes.
In her ruling, Justice Anne Mugenyi Bitature said that wards of Aloet and Opiyai were erroneously taken from Soroti City East where they were designated to be by the statutory instrument created by the minister of local government and instead annexed to Soroti City West.
She said the electoral body went ahead to gazzette and as such Attan was ‘illegally’ declared as MP for Soroti City East.
Attan who appeared calm after ruling, said that he never participated in the creation of the boundaries, but only contested as required by the Electoral Commission and was duly elected by the people.
Attan becomes the second Member of the 11th Parliament to be thrown out, after Christopher Komakech who also lost seat about two weeks ago, when court ordered for fresh election for the Aruu County South seat.
Attan is well remembered after his two wives scuffled on the podium as the husband was to take oath.
