BY OKIDI PATRICK
KAMPALA — Defense Minister Hon. Jacob Maxwell Oboth-Oboth has been officially declared the Speaker-elect of the 12th Parliament of Uganda following a dominant landslide victory during the parliamentary voting session.
Oboth-Oboth systematically secured an overwhelming 441 votes from Members of Parliament, comfortably clearing the path to take charge of the legislative arm of government.
The high-stakes race, which was thrown wide open after the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) opted out of early consensus ring-fencing, ended in a decisive defeat for the opposition and independent challengers.
Former Jinja South East legislator Hon. Paul Mwiru finished a distant second, managing to garner 60 votes. Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Democratic Party (DP) President General, Hon. Norbert Mao, finished third with a total of 15 votes, despite mounting a heavily publicized campaign anchored on anti-graft reforms and the NRM-DP cooperation agreement.
How the Votes Were Handled:
The highly transparent election exercise saw a total of 519 ballots cast on the floor of the House. According to official tallies, the process concluded with:
- Total Votes Cast: 519
- Jacob Oboth-Oboth: 441 votes
- Paul Mwiru: 60 votes
- Norbert Mao: 15 votes
- Invalid/Spoilt Ballots: 3 votes
The smooth, highly scrutinized vote-counting process was managed directly by the Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige, who oversaw the sorting and validation of each individual secreat ballot paper.
The entire voting procedure and subsequent declaration of results were legally presided over by Chief Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija. Following the official declaration, the newly elected Speaker Rt.Hon.Oboth Oboth took his solemn oath and took over the mantle of leadership for the 2026–2031 legislative term promising evidence based parliament.
He appealed that his commettee should be facilitated to monitor government fund.
He promised to treat each member of parliament with fairness and said Ugandans need to be served with respect and honour.
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