Election Season in Uganda

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | It is election season in Uganda and the usual cocktail of cash, fighting, and upsets is on offer. The offering is led by the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Uganda’s ruling party of 40 years whose primaries were yet again a blood-soaked affair with mob violence, gunfire, burnt vehicles and outright mayhem.

Generals, NRM veterans, out of sorts government officials, newbies, were all in the mix as the country’s largest party chose its flagbearers for the 2026 parliamentary elections. The primary elections held on July 17 across the country replicated scenarios that happened in 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.

NRM’s internal polls offer a prelude of what lies ahead in the general elections when opposition parties like National Unity Platform, Peoples Front for Freedom (PFF), Forum of Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party, and Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) vie for elective positions.

NRM big shots like Moses Ali, Jessica Alupo, Robinah Nabbanja, Rebecca Kadaga, Kahinda Otafiire, Jim Muhwezi, Matia Kasaija triumphed in races that all but guaranteed them slots in the House next year. But the defining aspects of the NRM primaries over the years has been their do-or-die nature. Being an NRM flagbearer in the majority of the constituencies such as western and northern Uganda makes a candidate a shoo in for election.

As a measure to curb violence in the party elections, the NRM opted for queue voting but the chaos has not relented. The NRM is fused with state structures; police, military, ministries, and government departments, meaning the stakes are always high for whoever carries the party flag. Ntungamo Municipality MP Yona Musinguzi sustained injuries after a scuffle at a polling station.

Contestants, their agents, supporters, police, army and voters are all caught up in election chaos. Lwemiyaga County in Sembabule that was the most watched.

From the day Rwashande, a former guerilla war fighter, entered the race, there was friction in the constituency notorious for election violence. A war of words between Rwashande and Ssekikubo, and fights between their supporters, constant security presence have dominated the news. Reports say some of Ssekikubo’s supporters were shot dead by agents of Rwashande.

Eventually, Rwashande was declared winner with a tally of 16,000 votes–double those of his rival. The outcome could end the tenure of Ssekikuubo who has been in parliament since 2001.

Early reports showed ministers like David Bahati, Musa Ecweru, Obiga Kania, Jennifer Namuyangu lost flags. Former ministers Irene Muloni, Agnes Nandutu, Joyce Kaducu also lost their bids. In total, the NRM electoral commission led by Tanga Odoi nominated 2037 candidates for 519 constituencies.

The NRM primaries are a precursor for more conflict: court petitions. The largest opposition party, NUP, eschewed internal elections in favour of vetting candidates which also drew criticism from the public and party members.

The conclusion of the primary election process sets the stage for the highly anticipated parliamentary elections in 536 constituencies across the country.

The Good

The emergence of the PFF from the ashes of the FDC or at least what it used to be has galvanised activists and diehards of the party that lost its identity five years ago when it was haunted by rumours of state infiltration through cash and bribes. The nominal leader of the PFF, Dr Kizza Besigye, remains in jail on charges of treason since he was thrown in prison last year.

PFF is in talks with Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), a party formed in 2019 and led by former FDC president Mugisha Muntu. There was jubilation among PFF faithful when the party was gazetted by the Electoral Commission in June. PFF held a delegates conference at their offices on Katonga Road attended by leading officials like Erias Lukwago, Ssemujju Nganda, Wassa Birigwa. Lukwago is PFF interim chairperson while Ssemujju is spokesperson.

Besigye addressed the convention by audio from Luzira Prison where he reiterated the call for fighting for freedom. Besigye supporters followed him en masse and although the party is still finding its footing, PFF’s establishment was hailed as a nod to the political resilience that was associated with the original FDC at its peak.

The National Unity Platform was the only party that was reported not to have put a cash prize on its flag as party members aspired for political office. NUP officials led by party president Robert Kyagulanyi better known as Bobi Wine argued that the organisation wanted to raise the standard for elected officials.

NUP opted for a carefully vetted exercise to choose its representatives for next year’s polls. However some decisions proved controversial such as picking Nubian Li, a close friend of Bobi Wine, as the party flagbearer for Nakawa Mayor shunting aside the incumbent Paul Mugambe.

NUP also launched a fundraising campaign for its stab at next year’s general election where hundreds of millions of shillings have been raised from supporters in Uganda and abroad. The party is expected to field hundreds of candidates for elective posts.

In a rare occurrence in the NRM, Shartsie Mushereure stepped down for Sodo Kaguta in the Mwaogola North race. The contests between the two in the 2020 election campaign was one of the most heated—the race was fueled by a generational feud that rocked an perennially divided NRM house in Sembabule district. It took the intervention of President Museveni to restore normalcy.

But in a shocking twist weeks in the current campaign, Shartsi, a one term MP and daughter of former minister Sam Kutesa, stepped down for Sodo, the President’s younger brother. Sodo was one of the seventeen unopposed candidates in the NRM primaries. Health Minister Ruth Aceng was also unopposed.

The Bad

Electioneering in Uganda remains a muddy affair with fist fights, bribes and intrigue. Security officials in the army, police and other law enforcement organs engage in partisan rancour declaring their support for the NRM and President Museveni who is gearing for another run well in his eighties.

Due to violence in areas like Sembabule, Mubende, the NRM elections chief Tanga Odoi had to suspend election campaigns in Lwemiyaga where Brig. Emmanuel Rwashande and MP Theodore Ssekikubo were slugging it out. NRM internal elections are dominated by an older generation.

Former Vice President Edward Ssekandi, Former Speaker of the House Rebecca Kadaga, ministers; Moses Ali Jim Muhwezi, Kahinda Otafiire, and former defence minister Crispus Kiyonga are all way in their seventies and clinging onto parliament aiming to legislate for a nation where 70% of the population is below 30.

The NRM electoral commission delayed polling materials in Kampala. Voting was scheduled to take place within a five hour period but late in the afternoon, there were reports of hardly any voting taking place in Kampala which is the most populated area albeit it is an opposition hold out.

The Ugly

The detention of Dr Besigye, a luminary of democratic struggle and civic organisation in Uganda, remains one of the ugliest realities of the 2025/2026 campaign election season. The 69 year old was a founding member of the FDC, a former physician to Museveni who also served in the NRM government as a political commissar, army officer and minister. Besigye is marking seven months in Luzira prison.

The Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has said he will hang Besigye for being a traitor. Muhoozi’s Twitter posts show the role he will play in the election. He has urged his “supporters” to vote for the NRM and President Museveni.

It has also indicated how the military remains prevalent in Uganda’s body politic. Other victims of Muhoozi include Bobi Wine’s bodyguard Eddie Mutwe who was abducted and remains in jail. Gen. Muhoozi, who ordered his arrest and bragged about torturing him, torments him on Twitter routinely.

The army continues to carry out attacks on the opposition. Offices of NUP have been targeted by operatives arresting party members, ransacking offices and often fleeing with cash.

A husband of an NRM contestant in Kamuli was shot dead on the eve of the primaries in what was suspected to be election-related violence. Police are investigating the incident that has been one of the few reported killings in the current cycle.

Not so far away from Kamuli in Nakaseke was more bedlam. Gen. Henry Tumukunde’s son was contesting for a position in Nakaseke. On election day, he was involved in a scuffle with area residents over what appeared to be polling issues. Phillip Tumukunde appeared to be armed as seen from social media videos.

Gen. Tumukunde was also vying for an NRM party ticket in Rukungiri Municipality which he won. Like Otafiire, Muhwezi and Rwashande, he took part in the guerilla war and is a former spy chief and former security minister. It is not clear why his son is taking part in a constituency more than 400km away from their home district.

Mubarak Munyagwa, a former MP for Kawempe North, formed a party called the Common Peoples party. To launch it, he invited a few of his associates who indulged in an open feast in a desperate attempt to identify with the masses. His gambit attracted ridicule with a number of observers describing it as another example of how low the bar lies for political discourse in Uganda.