Kampala, Uganda: The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) and its leader, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, are racing against time to secure nomination for the 2026 presidential elections after the Electoral Commission (EC) flagged his signatures as insufficient.
With only three days left to the September 23–24 presidential nominations, the EC told the NUP of Friday, September 19, that they must collect signatures from 18 more districts to meet the constitutional threshold of 100 signatures from at least 98 districts.
The directive didn’t sit well with the musician-cum opposition figure, who took to his X handle, accusing the EC of partisanship and claiming security operatives were intimidating his supporters. “In the most partisan manner, the EC is indicating that we haven’t submitted enough signatures for my nomination as president. This, after submitting more than enough signatures per district! The same EC is indicating that Museveni submitted more than enough signatures,” he wrote.
According to records from EC shared by Kyagulanyi, NUP had secured signatures from 80 districts, leaving a shortfall of 18 districts.
The NUP Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya also reechoed his Principal’s statements, accusing the EC of frustrating Kyagulanyi’s nomination bid by deliberately delivering late communication on the alleged shortfall.
Rubongoya insisted that the party had submitted more than 130,000 signatures from over 130 districts, far above the required minimum. “Since September 10, we have been asking EC to give us an update so we can pay the nomination fees for our President Kyagulanyi, but they turned us down,” he told journalists on Friday evening.
The NUP SG further alleged that supporters had been harassed by GISOs, DISOs, and RDCs, some forced to deny their signatures when contacted by EC officials. He warned that such actions risked blocking Kyagulanyi’s nomination, “handing President Museveni an easy path to another term.”
When contacted, EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi said he had no information on the matter and could not comment.
Meanwhile, Kyagulanyi called on supporters to urgently deliver the outstanding signatures, announcing a mobilisation drive at NUP headquarters in Makerere-Kavule on Saturday. He also revealed plans for a mega rally in Katwe and Nateete on September 23, coinciding with President Museveni’s event at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
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