Nebbi Municipality MP Emmanuel Ongiertho (left) and his rival, Hashim Sulaiman.

The High Court in Arua has upheld the election of Emmanuel Ongiertho as Nebbi Municipality Member of Parliament, dismissing an election petition filed by his rival, Hashim Sulaiman, challenging the January 15, 2026 election results.

In a judgment delivered electronically, Justice Celia Nagawa ruled that Sulaiman had failed to prove the grounds on which he sought to challenge the election, leaving Ongiertho’s victory intact.

The judge, however, faulted the Electoral Commission for failing to provide Sulaiman with voter registration transfer records he had requested during the dispute. The court consequently ordered the commission to meet part of the petitioner’s legal costs, despite his failure to overturn the election results.

According to results published in the Uganda Gazette on March 2, 2026, Ongiertho won the Nebbi Municipality parliamentary election with 6,042 votes against Sulaiman’s 5,168, giving him a majority of 874 votes.

The other candidates, Denis Ruva Donge and Ronald Alfred Olar, received 82 and 387 votes, respectively.

Sulaiman, who contested the January 15, 2026 polls on the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket as the incumbent MP, challenged the results on four grounds.

He argued that Ongiertho had not been validly nominated. He also contested the legality of his voter registration transfer and accused the Electoral Commission of failing to comply with electoral laws in ways that substantially affected the election outcome.

Additionally, Sulaiman alleged that illegal electoral practices and offences had been committed by Ongiertho or his agents.