Museveni forms special committee to handle NRM primaries petitions

21 July 2025, 3:58 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Electoral Commission Chairperson, Dr Tanga Odoi, has confirmed that President Yoweri Museveni—who also serves as the party chairman—has established a special committee to handle petitions from party members dissatisfied with the outcomes of the recently concluded primaries.

Speaking to journalists at the party’s Electoral Commission headquarters in Kampala, Dr Tanga Odoi stated that the committee will operate independently of the Electoral Commission and is mandated to receive and resolve complaints within five days.

“President Museveni, who is also the chairman of the party, constituted a committee to receive petitions from party members disputing the results of the primaries. None of the members on that committee is part of the Electoral Commission,” Dr Tanga Odoi said.

Meanwhile, the NRM party spokesperson has reminded members who lose in the primaries not to contest as independents. However, the current Minister of State for Housing, Hon Persis Namuganza, has declared that she will stand as an independent candidate for Bukono South Member of Parliament in Namutumba District. Namuganza claims the primaries were marred by irregularities and has rejected the official results, which declared Maganda Emanuel as the winner.

“I want to tell my people that I am not quitting the race and I will stand as an independent for the people to decide. I can’t accept the results because they were full of irregularities. I had planned to quit, but my supporters urged me to continue, so I’m going to do that,” she said. Namuganza added that she had approached the party headquarters hoping for intervention from the Electoral Commission but was left disappointed.

In other news, the Chairman of Kalerwe Abattoir, Sekanyo Sulaiman, has provided an update on the state of the sector following the festive season. He noted that beef prices have now stabilised and operations are running smoothly.

“I want to thank our customers for their continued support. Since the festive season, beef prices have returned to normal. The challenges we are currently facing are minor, and we believe they will be resolved as we are working in partnership with the relevant authorities,” Sekanyo said.