The Chairperson of the Lango Parliamentary Group (LPG), Judith Alyek was on July 17 defeated in the NRM primaries ahead of the general election in 2026.
“Popular” Alyek, alongside five other incumbent Members of Parliament from the Lango sub-region were denied access to the ruling party flags for re-election.
She was elected in 2016, ending the term of incumbent Joy Ruth Aceng of UPC. Alyek would later be elected by the Lango MPs to lead them.
On Thursday, she garnered 11,005 votes, losing decisively to her challenger and newcomer Acheng Sandra Odongo, who received 20,215 votes.
The difference between the winner and loser is 9,210 votes.
Another prominent casualty is Tony Ayoo, the incumbent MP for Kwania County. Ayoo was defeated by Tony Eron – his longtime political assistant.
Eron secured 7,732 votes (49.612%) to Ayoo’s 7,253 votes (46.535%). Moses Odongo, the NRM District Registrar for Kwania, declared Eron the winner.
Ayoo has “thanked the RDC of Kwania for his loss” – revealing that he would analyse the election outcomes first and announce his next move.
In Dokolo North, the incumbent NRM flag bearer and MP Moses Ogwal Goli lost the primary to Joseph Jones Ogwal.
Ogwal received 5,964 votes compared to Goli’s 4,915 votes, a difference of 1,049 votes.
Goli was elected in 2021, succeeding Paul Amoru Omiat.
Alebtong district woman MP, Docus Acen, also suffered defeat. Acen, who had unseated former MP Christine Acen in the 2021 general election and hails from the same area as Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua, was beaten by Dr. Lakisa Mercy.
Lakisa polled 25,323 votes against Acen’s 8,348 votes.
In Amolatar, Kioga North, incumbent MP James Olobo, popularly known as “Dubai” was soundly defeated by Peter Okodo, who is also the Managing Director of the Jerusalem School of Health Sciences in Lira City.
Okodo secured 10,570 votes, a remarkable result against Olobo’s 7,344 votes.
Adding to the list of defeated incumbents is Christine Akello Gwokadako, the MP for Erute North in Lira district. Akello lost the flag to Patrick Ongom Aregedeng, who received 10,615 votes against 5,229 votes.
Commenting on the outcomes, prominent Lango political analyst Jek Etwop told our reporter that the defeats signaled the end of the road for the affected MPs.
He cautioned those who won, advising them to remember that holding the party flag is no guarantee of success, as they could still face defeat in the main elections.
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