The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development and Oyam South Member of Parliament, Hon. Betty Amongi, has publicly alleged widespread electoral malpractice in the recently concluded Lira City Woman Member of Parliament elections.
Speaking candidly at Voice of Lango 88 FM in Lira, Amongi claimed that her defeat was not merely the result of contesting against fellow candidate Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, the current Minister of Health and Lira City Woman MP, but rather a broader political battle involving the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among.
“Our votes were stolen. No one in Uganda does not know this. The Speaker of Parliament openly told the President that they did not want me to go to Parliament. I am also a threat to her,” Amongi stated.
According to Amongi, the Speaker of Parliament actively participated in efforts to ensure her electoral defeat. She alleges that Rt. Hon. Anita Among mobilized security personnel and deployed significant financial resources during the campaign period.
Amongi claims that the Speaker traveled to the Lango sub-region with Shs 4.2 billion, and on the eve of the elections—Wednesday prior to the Thursday polls—arrived with more than ten buses filled with people. These individuals were allegedly involved in distributing money and assisting in the illegal ticking of ballot papers.
Hon. Amongi further alleged large-scale ballot stuffing in favor of Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng. She claims that 27,000 votes were fraudulently ticked on behalf of Aceng across several polling areas.
According to her account:
- A soldier allegedly admitted to personally ticking 2,000 ballots
- A caller from Odokomit reportedly ticked 2,700 ballots
- Another source from Ngetta claimed 3,010 ballots were ticked
- From Boke, Amongi says 2,010 ballots were fraudulently marked
All the alleged ballots were said to be in favor of Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng.
Hon. Betty Amongi emphasized that these actions undermined the democratic process and called for accountability and transparency in Uganda’s electoral system. She maintained that her loss was not a fair reflection of the will of the people of Lira City.
As of publication, neither the Office of the Speaker of Parliament nor Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng had issued an official response to these allegations.
