Hilary Onek faces two challengers in Palabek County race
The two candidates, Robert Priestwood Ocaya and Geoffrey Odongkara Obalim, both independents, were nominated on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, the same day Onek was nominated.
Hilary Onek Obaloker, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Palabek County. (File photo)
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Two candidates have been nominated by the Electoral Commission in Lamwo district to challenge Hilary Onek Obaloker, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Palabek County.
The two candidates, Robert Priestwood Ocaya and Geoffrey Odongkara Obalim, both independents, were nominated on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, the same day Onek was nominated.
Onek, seeking a sixth term, has been in Parliament since 2001, first as the MP for Lamwo County (before Palabek County was carved out of Lamwo), and is one of the longest-serving Members of Parliament in the Acholi region.
He is the current minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees. He previously served as internal affairs minister, energy minister and agriculture minister.
Before joining politics, Onek also served as Managing Director of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation.
In the 2021 general election, Onek went unopposed after his two opponents, Patrick Lakidi (the late) and Ocira, stepped down in his favour.
In Lamwo County, five candidates have been nominated to unseat the incumbent, Jalon Anthony Okulo Aabauka, an independent candidate who contested four times against Onek and finally succeeded in 2021 when Palabek County was created.
The candidates challenging Aabauka include Johnson Kekekiya Nyeko, the NRM flag bearer; George Anywar under the DP ticket; Joel Okongo of the National Peasants’ Party (NPP); and independent candidates Thomas Oketayot and Grace Regina Akulu.
In the Woman MP race, Nancy Acora Odonga, the incumbent under the NRM ticket, will face Molly Lanyero, the former Woman MP for Lamwo County who lost to Acora in the NRM primary.
Lanyero lost her seat to Acora in the 2021 general election. After the election, Lanyero petitioned the Gulu High Court, alleging that Acora rigged the vote, but the court ruled in favour of Acora.
Rebecca Nandutu, the Lamwo district Electoral Commission returning officer, said 11 candidates have already been nominated, while five others are expected to be nominated before the exercise ends on Thursday (October 23).
She named them as Richard Nyeko and Felix Anthony Ocen, both independent aspirants for Palabek County.
Others include Kanto Joseph Ocen under the NUP ticket, James Aloyotoo under the JEEMA ticket, and John Bosco Loklit, an independent candidate seeking to contest for Lamwo County.
Nandutu said they are verifying some of the candidates’ documents to ensure they are nominated before the close of the exercise.