Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among has officially been declared the Bukedea District Woman Member of Parliament for the 12th Parliament after going through the nomination process unopposed.
According to the Bukedea District Returning Officer, the declaration was made following the conclusion of a two-day nomination exercise during which no other candidate submitted nomination papers for the position.
The decision was made in line with Section 31(b) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which allows a returning officer to declare a candidate elected without a vote if only one person is duly nominated for a constituency.
Ms Among’s unopposed victory follows her earlier success in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries held in July, where she was the only remaining candidate after her opponent was disqualified for not being a registered resident of Bukedea District.
However, the nomination process was not without controversy. Opposition representatives from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the National Unity Platform (NUP) accused the Electoral Commission of frustrating their efforts to participate in the exercise. FDC’s Susan Norma Okedi and NUP’s Florence Asio claimed that their nominations were delayed through what they described as “technical and procedural obstacles.”
Despite these allegations, the Electoral Commission confirmed that only Anita Among met all legal and procedural requirements for nomination. This means she automatically retains her seat as Bukedea Woman MP in the upcoming Parliament.
Among’s unopposed victory highlights her continued influence in Bukedea politics and within the ruling NRM party, positioning her for another term as one of Uganda’s most prominent political figures.
