Omoro, Uganda | URN | The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party candidate Andrew Ojok Oulanyah has been declared the winner of the Omoro County by-elections.
Ojok replaces his father Jacob Oulanyah, the former Speaker of Parliament who died in March in Seattle, USA due to cancer.
Andrew Ojok was declared the winner of the elections from Lalogi sub county headquarters by the Omoro district returning officer Moses Kagona. He garnered 14,224 of the total votes cast defeating his closest rival Simon Toolit Akecha of National Unity Platform (NUP) who got 1,633 votes.
Terence Odonga, an independent candidate came third with 532 votes followed by Justine Odong Obiya of Forum for Democratic Change who scored 529 votes.
Others are Jimmy Odong Onen, an independent candidate who scored 88 votes, and Oscar Kizza of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party with 63 votes.
17,454 voters participated in the elections out of the 38,638 from the 84 polling stations. A total of ten votes were spoiled.
Ojok says that he will work towards developing the people of Omoro as it was his father’s wish.
Justice Simon Byabakama, the Electoral Commission Chairperson applauded the voters and candidates for upholding peace and tranquility during the elections.
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However, Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) says that the elections were marred with irregularities, intimidation, and arrest of their agents and supporters. He noted that it was already in their wisdom that Ojok would be declared winner of the elections regardless of anything.
Oscar Kizza, the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) candidate also noted that the result is not surprising since it was marred with vote-buying and bribery.
He says he will seek the court to oust Ojok from Parliament since he had irregularities in his candidature.
About Andrew Ojok
Despite starting humble, studying in village schools in Omoro and Gulu where he trekked about five kilometers daily, Ojok managed to excel when he joined Buganda Road primary school.
He became a perfect and head prefect of the school. In PLE, he got aggregate four and joined St Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK) from S1 to S6.
In 2010, he left Uganda for Algeria on a scholarship to pursue a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is fluent in French, German, English, and local languages.
Ojok returned to Uganda in 2015 and got a job with the National Information Technology Authority – Uganda (NITA-U) where he has held various responsibilities before he was called to join politics.
His core assignment in the seven years was being a relations manager between the Government of Uganda and international corporations such as Microsoft and Oracle.
In November 2022, he will be awarded a master’s degree in ICT Management, Policy, and Architectural Design at Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi.
