As the hearing of petitions arising from the NRM primaries proceeds into its second day, the NRM Director of Legal Services, Counsel Enoch Barata, has disclosed that over 15 petitioners have so far retracted their cases, with more than 120 petitions processed to date.
“We are experiencing a seamless flow of activities here. As of today, 120 petitions have been concluded. We’ve streamlined and merged similar cases to save time allocated for the petition review,” Barata noted.
“We’ve seen around 15 petitions withdrawn voluntarily, which is a positive sign—demonstrating that candidates acknowledge the electoral process as transparent and credible,” he added.
Counsel Barata made these remarks during a media briefing held at the NRM Legal Tribunal headquarters located at Plot 30, Kyadondo Road, Nakasero, also stating that no major challenges have been encountered thus far.
He emphasized that the tribunal is expected to issue rulings on parliamentary aspirants’ petitions within seven days of the hearing date.
“Ordinarily, judgments are delivered within seven days unless the tribunal determines the need for more time, as the rules permit such an extension. But the standard timeline remains seven days from the date the hearing is conducted,” Barata explained.
Additionally, he warned both petitioners and those petitioned against engaging with fraudsters who claim to have the ability to influence tribunal decisions through informal means. He stressed that all petitions are managed exclusively by tribunal panels at the official NRM Tribunal premises.
