By KT Reporter
With just weeks to go before the nomination of parliamentary candidates, including Special Interest Groups such as youth, persons with disabilities, workers, and older persons, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is facing a rebellion within its ranks.
More than 200 incumbent MPs of the 337 who lost in the July party primaries have declared their intention to contest as independents in the 2026 polls, exposing cracks within the NRM and raising questions about party discipline, electoral integrity, and the future of its political dominance.
The Electoral Commission has rescheduled the nomination of parliamentary candidates from October 15–16 to October 22–23, 2025. Nominations will take place at the offices of District and City Returning Officers across the country.
The defeated MPs, among them senior legislators and former ministers, insist the primaries were riddled with irregularities, such as voter bribery, intimidation, manipulated registers, and tampered tally sheets. Viral videos and social media posts showing alleged underage voting, cash handouts, and chaotic queues have been circulated as evidence.
Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo accused NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong of turning a blind eye to the malpractice, saying his management of the process enabled fraud.
Barnabas Tinkasimire, who lost the Buyaga West NRM ticket, likened the situation to the vote rigging that once inspired President Yoweri Museveni to launch a guerrilla war, lamenting that “the same vice is thriving in the party he leads.”
Anthony Esenu Alden, the Kapelebyong County MP, revealed that the aggrieved legislators have formed an “NRM-leaning independent platform” to coordinate campaigns and present themselves as a credible alternative within the ruling fold.
Critics argue that running as independents undermines party cohesion. But Bunyole East MP Yusuf Mutembuli, the group’s legal adviser, says their actions are constitutionally protected.
He cites Article 72(4) of the Constitution, Article 8 of the NRM Party Constitution, and the Political Parties and Organisations Act, all of which guarantee the right to form parties, join them, or contest independently.
The NRM leadership has warned that it will not tolerate defections and has threatened to expel members who abandon the official flag. Already, 426 petitions challenging the primary outcomes are before the party’s Dispute Resolution Tribunal.
Observers note, however, that mounting public anger over the primaries has pressured the party and President Museveni to acknowledge grievances and initiate reviews, even as defectors pledge loyalty to him while preparing independent campaigns.
The Constitution and the Parliamentary Elections Act empower the Electoral Commission to oversee candidate nominations. In practice, any aspirant who meets nomination requirements can stand as an independent unless legally disqualified.
The Parliamentary Elections Act also criminalises electoral offences such as bribery, intimidation, and falsifying results, prescribing penalties for violators. Meanwhile, the Political Parties and Organisations Act allows parties to discipline members who breach internal rules, though enforcement can be contested before courts and the Electoral Commission.
Analysts warn that an exodus of NRM incumbents could splinter support in many constituencies, handing opposition candidates an opening in closely contested areas where local personalities, rather than party labels, determine outcomes.
The standoff also underscores a broader dilemma in Uganda’s politics: why leaders struggle to accept defeat. Experts point to a mix of personal ambition, patronage systems, and the high stakes of political office. For many MPs, losing a seat means losing influence and resources, making defeat hard to accept.
Ultimately, the Electoral Commission, not the NRM, decides who appears on the ballot. While the party can expel or sanction dissenters, it cannot legally bar a qualified candidate from contesting as an independent.
The next few weeks will be decisive. Aggrieved MPs will decide whether to formalize their independent bids, while the NRM weighs enforcement of expulsions. For the ruling party, the challenge is to demonstrate credible internal democracy and discipline if it hopes to prevent vote-splitting and preserve its dominance in 2026.
Uganda’s multiparty politics is once again at a crossroads, caught between the constitutional right to contest and the political imperative of party unity.
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