Queen Amolo Petitions Electoral Commission Over Ballot Name Error in Uganda

Oyam — Queen Dorothy Amolo, one of the candidates for the Oyam South Constituency parliamentary seat has petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC) after discovering that her name was changed on the ballot paper. The Electoral Commission nominated eight candidates the Oyam South MP race. These included Benard Awuku (Independent), Patrick Obong (Independent), Anthony Obuku Ekwaro (Independent), Odong Godfrey (Democratic Front), Patrick Ogwang Obura (NRM), Ishaa Amiza (NUP), Geoffrey Owili (UPC), and Queen Dorothy Amolo (Independent). Voting commenced on January 15, 2026, across all 266 polling stations in the constituency. However, concerns were raised by Amolo after she noticed that her name appeared as "Queen Dorothy Alweng" instead of "Queen Dorothy Amolo" on the ballot paper. Amolo explained that as voting neared the official closing time of 4:00 p.m., she received a call from one of her agents alerting her to the discrepancy. She immediately informed the Oyam District Returning Officer by phone and later filed a formal petition seeking clarification. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn Joseph Omona, the Oyam District Returning Officer, confirmed receiving both a phone call and a written complaint from Amolo. However, he explained that since the petition was submitted after polling and counting had already commenced, the election could not be cancelled. According to Omona, the matter was escalated to the Electoral Commission legal team, which later advised Amolo to seek legal redress. The Electoral Commission later declared Patrick Ogwang Obura, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer, as the winner of the Oyam South Constituency parliamentary race in the 2026 general elections. According to results announced by Returning Officer Joseph Omona, Benard Awuku (Independent) polled 455 votes, Patrick Obong (Independent) 777 votes, Anthony Obuku Ekwaro (Independent) 3,222 votes, Odong Godfrey (Democratic Front) 202 votes, Patrick Ogwang Obura (NRM) 29,353 votes, Otto Ishaa Amiza (NUP) 2,083 votes, Geoffrey Owili (UPC) 9,529 votes, and Queen Dorothy Amolo (Independent) 3,516 votes, out of a total of 49,137 valid votes cast. "Accordingly, as Returning Officer for Oyam Electoral District and in accordance with Section 77(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, Cap. 177, I declare Ogwang Patrick Obura, who has obtained the largest number of votes, to be the elected candidate for Oyam County South Constituency, Oyam District," Omona said.