The candidate for the National Resistance Movement, Moses Walyomu Muwanika, has been declared winner of the Thursday by-election in Kagoma county parliamentary by-election.

Rogers Sserunjogi, the Jinja District Returning Officer, declared Walyomu winner at around 11am.

According to Sserunjogi, 53,169 ballots were casts; 1,025 were invalid while 47 ballot papers were spoilt.

Walyomu polled 24,257 votes (45.6 per cent of the total votes counted) while his closest challenger, independent candidate Alex Kintu garnered 18,490 (34.8 per cent). In third position was Forum for Democratic Change candidate Timothy Batuwa Lusala with 8,149 votes (15.3 per cent) while independent candidate Mohamed Bidindole Bismark trailed with 1,248 (2.3 percent).

Walyomu’s margin over Kintu is higher than that in February 2016 election which was annulled by the Court of Appeal in Kampala after court was convinced that Walyomu had been involved in electoral malpractice.

In the 2016 poll, Walyomu had polled 16,391 votes while Kintu had managed 14,244.