Kampala, Uganda: The National Unity Platform (NUP) has declared readiness to nominate its party principal, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, for the 2026 presidential race after collecting signatures from the 18 districts flagged by the Electoral Commission (EC).
Speaking at NUP headquarters in Makerere-Kavule on Saturday, Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said the party had mobilised over 18,000 signatures in response to the EC’s Friday directive. He noted that supporters had traveled from across Uganda, including Gulu and Arua, to endorse Kyagulanyi’s bid.
“Our teams in different parts of the country are also collecting signatures and many have already sent them in. We are 100 percent ready for nomination,” Rubongoya said, adding that some supporters had arrived in buses to append their endorsements.
Rubongoya accused the EC of double standards, questioning how President Museveni’s nomination papers were swiftly cleared with claims of over two million signatures from 136 districts, while NUP’s 130,000 signatures from more than 130 districts were partly rejected.
“We want Ugandans to see who signed for Museveni because I am sure they are lying. They claimed to have two million signatures, but in the last election, media investigations showed that many of their files were even empty,” Rubongoya said.
He further demanded that the EC publish a comprehensive report explaining why signatures from 50 out of the 130 districts NUP submitted were rejected, while those for Museveni were approved.
On Friday, the EC informed NUP that only 80 of its districts had been verified, leaving a shortfall of 18 districts that could disqualify Kyagulanyi if not corrected before the September 23–24 nomination deadline.
In response, Kyagulanyi urged voters from the affected districts to sign at NUP headquarters on Saturday, accusing the EC of partisan conduct and intimidation of his supporters by GISOs, DISOs and RDCs.
Meanwhile, the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) led by Gen Mugisha Muntu also expressed disappointment with the EC over its late communication. “While we acknowledge that verification is part of the process, we strongly disagree with the late communication—only three days left. We call upon our supporters to support this process until its logical conclusion,” ANT said in a statement.
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