NRM’S JAMES LEKU PILLI WINS ADJUMANI WEST PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION

Leku James Pili, Adjumani West MP elect. NILE POST PHOTO

URN

National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer James Leku Pilli has been declared the winner of Thursday’s parliamentary by-election in Adjumani West Constituency, taking over the seat previously held by the late General Moses Ali.

Leku secured 12,423 votes against independent candidate Gasper Draga, who polled 2,559 votes. Adjumani District Returning Officer Akao Eunice Christine declared Leku the winner last night after tallying results from all 114 polling stations.

According to the official declaration, a total of 15,216 ballot papers were counted. Of these, 14,982 were valid votes, while 234 were rejected as invalid.

The by-election was held to fill the parliamentary vacancy created by the death of Gen. Moses Ali on July 18, 2026. The Electoral Commission had registered 51,437 voters in Adjumani West, with polling conducted at 114 stations.

Speaking earlier in the day, Leku expressed confidence in his chances of winning, attributing his campaign to the support he received from the NRM and officials from the party secretariat who joined him during the campaign and throughout the electoral process.

The election was, however, characterized by low voter turnout at several polling stations. Although polling was scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m., voting started more than an hour late at several stations as election officials waited for at least ten registered voters to witness the opening of polling materials.

Some voters attributed the delays and low turnout to frustration following the withdrawal of two of the four candidates who had initially been nominated for the race.

The two candidates, Ben Anyama and Patrick Tandrupasi, withdrew their candidacies shortly before polling day. Anyama had earlier lost the NRM primary election to Leku before subsequently standing as an independent candidate, while Tandrupasi had also entered the race as an independent.

The withdrawals left Leku and Draga as the only candidates on the final ballot. The Electoral Commission had initially nominated four candidates for the parliamentary race. Despite the delays at some polling stations, the election was generally peaceful. Biometric Voter Verification machines were used to verify voters against the register before they were allowed to cast their ballots.

An observation report by the Uganda Human Rights Commission said polling was generally orderly, with the security environment described as calm. It also noted that low voter turnout was evident at most polling stations by the close of voting at 4:00 p.m.

Leku’s victory now gives the NRM the Adjumani West parliamentary seat previously occupied by Gen. Moses Ali, who had represented the constituency for several terms before his death.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis