Uganda’s ruling party announced on Tuesday that President Yoweri Museveni, who is 80 years old, will run for re-election in the country’s upcoming general elections scheduled for early next year.
Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, was widely expected to seek another term. The lead-up to the January 2026 election has already seen a rise in repression, with opposition figures facing abductions, intimidation, and arrests.
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) confirmed in a statement posted on its website that Museveni intends to retain both the chairmanship of the party and its presidential ticket for the 2026 elections.
Tanga Odoi, chairman of the NRM’s electoral commission, also told AFP that Museveni would formally express his interest in remaining the party’s presidential candidate for the forthcoming elections.
Once praised for his early dedication to democratic reforms, Museveni—who took power in 1986 after leading a rebel movement—has since dismantled term limits and eliminated age caps from the constitution, ensuring his continued grip on power.
The announcement comes shortly after Bobi Wine, a leading opposition figure and musician-turned-politician, declared his intention to run again. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, lost to Museveni in the controversial 2021 elections, which were marred by widespread allegations of vote rigging and brutal crackdowns by security forces.
Wine has been detained multiple times, while Museveni’s son and likely successor, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has issued inflammatory threats against him on social media.
Another longtime challenger, Kizza Besigye, was abducted in Kenya last year and returned to Uganda, where he now faces treason charges and a potential death sentence. Human rights groups have condemned the charges as politically motivated. His wife, Winnie Byanyima, the UNAIDS executive director, said Besigye’s detention was purely for challenging the regime.
“He is being persecuted because he dared to run for office,” she stated.
AFP
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