Presidential candidates intensify campaigns as Uganda heads to 15 January 2026 polls

24 December 2025, 11:12 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

On 15 January 2026, Uganda, like other democratic countries, will hold general elections, giving citizens the opportunity to choose their leaders from the president to local councillors. To earn this mandate, aspiring leaders must engage voters, who hold the power to grant them a five-year term in office, or beyond.

It is against this background that eight presidential candidates Frank Bulira (RPP), Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (NRM), Mubarak Munyagwa (CMP), Robert Kasibante (PPP), Nandala Mafabi (FDC), Robert Kyagulanyi (NUP), Mugisha Muntu (ANT), and Elton Mabirizi of the Conservative Party are traversing the country, holding campaign rallies to canvass for support.

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, yesterday concluded his campaign rallies in the Greater Masaka subregion with a final stop in Sembabule District. Throughout his engagements in the region, Museveni emphasised peace, development, wealth creation, and employment. He pledged that in a potential seventh term, his government would register significant improvements in areas where performance has previously fallen short.

On the issue of land, the NRM says it intends to resolve long-standing disputes in the next five-year term through engagement with relevant stakeholders and by strengthening institutional structures.

In a related development, Ms Goodra Behakanira, commonly known as Maama Avema, recently addressed members of the UTOF NRM grassroots mobilisation team at their launch. She told mobilisers that some members of the public oppose the government simply because they lack adequate information about its achievements. She urged the team to actively sensitise communities about government programmes and gains, particularly in security.

“I thank you for inviting me to this function. We cannot remain here alone; you must go out and tell the people what the government has done, because some do not know. In the past, when a husband delayed returning home late at night, families would be worried, but today security has improved. We must protect the peace we have achieved,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Lead Pastor of New Life Deliverance Church in Salama, Kampala District, Pastor Joseph Kabuye, has urged the government to release some prisoners as a Christmas goodwill gesture to Ugandans. In his end-of-year message, Kabuye emphasised the importance of hard work in overcoming poverty and encouraged citizens to embrace cocoa farming as a viable economic activity.

On the opposition front, National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential flag bearer Robert Kyagulanyi yesterday campaigned in Wakiso District, where he called on Ugandans to vote for change. He argued that improved service delivery can only be achieved through active participation in the elections and urged voters to turn up in large numbers on 15 January 2026.