How Parties Declined in 2026 MP races

In the 11th parliament which is ending in May, opposition political parties like NUP had more MPs than they are going to have under the 12th parliament.

NUP had 57 MPs but this number has dropped to 50 in 12th parliament, with the party’s numbers in Buganda alone dropping from 55 to 41 MPs.

All NUPs MPs totalling 57 were from Buganda region with exception of JB Nambeshe and Manjeri Kyebakutika of Manjiya county and Jinja city.

In Buganda, NUP lost a good number of MP seats though it picked up a few new ones like Kira of Semujju Nganda and Buikwe south of Lulume Bayiga. They also added Masaka district and Mubende municipality among others.

It was even worse for FDC which reduced from 32 MPs to just 9 seats. DP dropped from 9 MPs to just 6 in the 12th parliament and these are Norbert Mao, Peter Okot of Tooci county, Geoffrey Opio, Geoffrey Okello, Patrick Okello Oguti of Aswa county in Gulu and Richard Sebamala of Bukoto central in Masaka. Apart from Sebamala, all DP MPs are from Acholi where Mao comes from.

FDC was also weakened in Teso and instead most of its winners came from Acholi too including Amuru’s Gilbert Olanya, Lucy Akello and Denis Onekalit Amere of Kitgum municipality. From Busoga they got Grace Wanzaka Kiirya of Butembe county who had been failing many times before.

From Teso the FDC had only Anna Adeke, Joan Alobo and Moses Attan who used to abuse Besigye everywhere to make Nandala and POA happy. POA himself stood in Kumi but was number four in the race and got very miserable votes.

It was so humiliating for POA that Anita Among or Jessica Alupo will have to help convince Museveni to make him RDC in a remote district like Amuria. Nandala failed to deliver even one MP from his place of Bugisu. Even his own Budadiri west was taken by NRM.

UPC reduced from 11 MPs to 10. Besigye’s Katonga PFF got only two MPs namely Betty Aol Ocan of Guli and Asinansi Nyakato of Hoima. Unexpectedly PFF lost giants like Semujju Nganda, Lulume Bayiga, Ingrid Turinawe, Doreen Nyanjura, Moses Kabusu the Kyamuswa incumbent and Dr. Nicolas Kamara of Kabale municipality where he was an incumbent. Gen Muntu’s ANT got one winner unlike in 2021 when they got nothing.

Jeema and PPP, which had one MP each in the 11th parliament, got nothing for 12th parliament. Mathias Mpuuga’s DF & Lukyamuzi’s CP got nothing too.

NRM remained dominant as always because even before the PWDs, Workers and Youths MP seats which are automatically theirs are included, the ruling party is already having 259 MP seats. Independents also reduced from 69 to 44 in the 12th parliament.