SOROTI.
by Joseph Kiggundu
Soroti City Woman Member of Parliament-elect Joan Achom Alobo of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) risks losing her seat after her rival Sarah Inachu of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) challenged her victory in the January 15, 2026, elections.
The petition was filed at the Soroti High Court by Anachu , who accuses Alobo and the Electoral Commission (EC) of presiding over an election marred by irregularities.
In her 36-page petition filed on March 10, 2026, Inachu states that she came second in a race of five candidates, polling 10,085 votes, while Alobo was declared the winner with 19,040 votes. Other contenders included independents Juliet Agonyo, Emily Shila Amulo, and Priscila Apolot.
Inachu alleges that the Electoral Commission failed to conduct a free and fair election, accusing the returning officer of unlawfully declaring Alobo the winner despite what she claims were flawed results.
“The returning officer failed to comply with the electoral law when he illegally declared Alobo as the duly elected Woman MP for Soroti city,” the petition reads.
She further accuses Alobo of engaging in electoral malpractice, including bribery of election officials.
“Alobo committed an act of corruption under the Anti-Corruption Act, 2009 by giving sh200,000 to each of the 27 Electoral Commission supervisors in Soroti city to facilitate malpractices such as pre-ticking of ballots, ballot stuffing and multiple voting,” Inachu alleges.
Inachu argues that the alleged irregularities substantially affected the outcome of the election, rendering the results invalid and not reflective of the will of the people. She is now asking the court to nullify Alobo’s victory and order a fresh election.
She also claims that in some polling stations, individuals not on the voters’ register or without valid voter location slips were allowed to vote, contrary to provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
However, Alobo has dismissed the allegations. Through her lawyer, Samuel Isodo, she filed a response in court on Monday (March 23) denying any wrongdoing.
“I did not give sh200,000 or any other sum to election supervisors. I did not commit any election offence, and neither did my agents,” Alobo stated in her affidavit.
She added that she did not authorise or approve any illegalities and described the affidavits supporting the petition as false and “fit only for a poorly made movie script.”
The Electoral Commission has also defended the election, maintaining that the results reflected the will of the voters in Soroti city. The Commission has lined up Soroti city returning officer John Gonzaga Olinga and 13 presiding officers as witnesses.
In its submission, the EC argued that even if there were any irregularities, they did not substantially affect the final outcome of the election. The Commission has asked the court to dismiss the petition with costs and uphold Alobo’s victory.
Speaking to journalists after filing her response, Alobo said she remains confident that the court will vindicate her, insisting she won the election fairly.
The case is yet to be fixed for hearing.
