INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE DEFEATS NRM’S BAKO IN ODRAVU RE-RUN ELECTION

A copy of the official Declaration of Results Form issued by the Returning Officer for Yumbe District, confirming Jesca Ayiru as the elected Odravu Sub-County District Female Councillor.

URN

 The National Resistance Movement has lost the Odravu Sub-County Female Councillor seat after its incumbent candidate was defeated by an independent candidate in the just concluded re-run election in Yumbe District.

According to the official Declaration of Results issued by Benson Obete, the Yumbe District Election Administrator, Jesca Ayiru, an independent candidate, polled 1,761 votes, defeating Kubra Bako of the NRM, who secured 1,193 votes. Meanwhile, Samsa Agolu, who was erroneously included on the ballot paper, received one vote.

In total, 2,955 valid votes were cast in the re-run election, while 31 ballot papers were rejected and two were recorded as spoiled.

Obete declared Ayiru the duly elected District Female Councillor for Odravu Sub-County in Yumbe District on behalf of the Electoral Commission.

The re-run followed a dramatic tie in the January 22, 2026, election in which Ayiru and Bako each polled 1,601 votes, forcing election officials to organize a fresh poll in line with the law.

However, the re-run was marred by a ballot paper error after the name of Samsa Agolu, an independent candidate who was not supposed to participate, was mistakenly printed on the ballot.

Despite the anomaly, the Electoral Commission directed that the election proceed as scheduled, noting that cancelling the poll would further delay representation for women in the district council.

The election was characterized by low voter turnout, with many polling stations recording few voters throughout the day. Election officials attributed the low numbers to voter fatigue following the earlier tie and the prolonged wait for the re-run.