The Electoral Commission (EC) has concluded the presidential nomination exercise, officially clearing eight candidates to contest in Uganda’s 2026 general elections.
The confirmed contenders include President Yoweri Museveni, seeking to extend his four-decade rule, opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Forum for Democratic Change’s Nathan Nandala Mafabi, and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) president Mugisha Muntu.
Other nominees are Frank Bulira Kabinga of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP), Elton Joseph Mabirizi, an electrical engineer who previously contested in 2016, and Robert Kasibante, the National Peasants Party (NPP) flag bearer.
The EC confirmed that no independent candidates were cleared this time round, marking a significant departure from previous elections where independents featured prominently on the ballot.
However, the process has stirred controversy. More than 15 independent aspirants have protested their exclusion, accusing the EC of selectively verifying nomination signatures.
They argue that the verification process unfairly denied them the opportunity to contest, effectively limiting the race to candidates endorsed by political parties.
“The law requires fairness in the verification process, but what we have seen is selective scrutiny that undermines our democratic rights,” one of the aggrieved aspirants told journalists in Kampala.
The EC has not yet formally responded to the grievances, but officials maintain that the nomination process was conducted in line with the law.
With the stage now set, the cleared candidates will begin their campaigns ahead of what is expected to be one of Uganda’s most closely watched elections in decades.