Kampala, Uganda: Uganda’s political landscape is bracing for heightened tension after confirmation that both President Museveni and his main challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine), will be nominated for the 2026 presidential elections on the same day, Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) scheduled September 23 and 24 as nomination days at its new headquarters in Lweza, Ssaabagabo, Makindye Division, and the NUP said Thursday it had officially chosen September 23 for Kyagulanyi, a date first chosen by the NRM for Museveni’s nomination.
Kyagulanyi, who in 2021 came short of his presidential ambitions, is expected to hold post-nomination rallies in Nateete and Katwe, strongholds of opposition mobilisation, but with President Museveni also expected at Lweza on the same day, the Entebbe–Kampala highway and its surroundings are now readying themselves to witness one of the heaviest security deployments in years.
Security analysts warn of inevitable traffic disruptions and potential clashes between rival supporters.
“Whenever the President is due for nomination, security protocols require advance road closures and heavy deployment. Now with both Museveni and Kyagulanyi converging on the same day, the stakes are even higher,” a senior police officer told DailyExpress on condition of anonymity.
EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi noted that while political parties choose their nomination slots, the Commission must “synchronise with other stakeholders, including the President, who is also due for nomination.”
The arrangement signals the logistical balancing act facing the IEC in managing a process where the incumbent doubles as a candidate.
Uneven Electoral Ground
Museveni, 81, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, will again contest under the NRM, and his incumbency gives him access to state resources and protocols that opponents say compromise fairness.
Despite repeated Supreme Court recommendations since 2001 to strip the incumbent of presidential privileges at least five months before nominations, Museveni has never implemented such reforms, leaving the opposition leaders to argue that this perpetuates a skewed contest.
Uganda’s electoral history is dominated by accusations of state bias, with the two-decade rivalry between Museveni and Dr. Kizza Besigye epitomising the struggle. Kyagulanyi’s bid represents a generational continuation of that battle, though he now faces the same entrenched obstacles that defined earlier contests.
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