Nebbi Municipality has elected its first female mayor after voters chose Jackline Opar of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the municipal mayoral election.

Official election results announced by Nebbi District Returning Officer Denis Obong show that Opar won the mayoral race with 4,362 votes, the highest number among all candidates.

The incumbent mayor, Geofrey Ngiriker, who contested as an independent candidate, came second with 2,013 votes. Other candidates in the race included James Combe Mucek of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), who received 428 votes, Charles Ulangi Mba, an independent candidate with 607 votes, and Geoffrey Thorwinyowa, also an independent, who obtained 157 votes.

According to Obong, a total of 7,656 votes were cast in the election. Of these, 7,567 were valid, while 89 ballots were declared invalid. He said the counting and declaration of results followed Section 147 of the Local Government Act, Cap 138.

Speaking after the announcement of the results, Opar said she was confident of her support across the municipality, noting that she performed well at most polling stations. She added that she had already started addressing community concerns even before officially taking office.

Before contesting for mayor, Opar served as the LCIII Chairperson of Thatha Division in Nebbi Municipality. She became widely known during the NRM mayoral primaries, where she defeated the then-incumbent mayor, Geofrey Ngiriker, in a closely contested race.

During the primaries, Opar polled 2,878 votes against Ngiriker’s 2,433, securing the NRM party flag ahead of the 2026 general elections. Her victory in the municipal election later confirmed her position as mayor.

Nebbi Municipality is located in the West Nile sub-region and serves as the administrative centre of Nebbi District. It was upgraded from a town council to a municipality in 2015 as part of government efforts to improve urban administration and service delivery.