Andrew Ojok, the son of the former Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah has accepted calls by elders from his clan to vie for the vacant Omoro County Parliamentary seat in Omoro district. The seat fell vacant following the death of his father on March 20, 2022, in Seattle in the United States.

Shortly after Oulanyah’s death, the family members proposed Ojok as a possible replacement for his father in parliament. On Friday last week, Ojok’s uncle asked the government and the people of Omoro county to support his candidature for the parliamentary seat in honour of his father.

Speaking to Uganda Radio Network on Wednesday in an interview, Ojok said he had made up his mind to join the Omoro county Parliamentary race. “I will be contesting and that means I have to resign, that goes without saying,” said Ojok.

Ojok has been working as a senior Information and Technology officer at the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U) for the past six years. Although he didn’t divulge much about his interest in the by-election, Ojok said that the key reason that drove him to contest is the desire to continue his father’s legacy.

Six other people have expressed interest to occupy the vacant Parliamentary seat. They include Omoro District LCV Chairperson Douglas Peter Okello, former Gulu Deputy Resident City Commissioner Francis Rwotlonyo, Andrew Olal, and Omoro District Council Speaker Richard Bongowat Luganya, all members of the ruling National Resistance Movement-NRM Party.

The others are Patrick Okot, a lecturer at Gulu University, and Engineer Terrence Odonga from the Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party. Okello told URN in an interview that whereas he has shown interest in the parliamentary seat, he is yet to make a formal declaration.

Francis Mawa, the Prime Minister of Puranga Clan where the late Oulanyah hailed from said that they have scheduled a clan meeting on Friday this week with the aspirants. The Electoral Commission has set May 26, 2022, as the polling date for the Omoro County by-election.

According to the Electoral Commission road map, the nomination of candidates will take place from May 12th to May 13, 2022, at Omoro District Council Hall. The campaigns will take place from May 16th- 24th, 2022.