Keypoints:
- Museveni confirmed for 2026 ballot
- Bobi Wine poised for high-stakes rematch
- Age limit scrapped for veteran leader
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni will again seek to extend his 39-year rule after Uganda’s electoral commission on Tuesday formally declared him a candidate for the country’s 2026 presidential election. The January vote is expected to reignite the fierce rivalry with pop-star-turned-politician Bobi Wine.
Officials announced Museveni’s nomination at a ceremony just outside Kampala, the capital, after the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) submitted more than two million signatures endorsing his bid.
‘My aim is to convince the people of Uganda of what has been achieved in the past and what we are planning to do now,’ Museveni told supporters, stressing his priority to attract more foreign investors to the East African nation.
Age barrier removed
Museveni, 79, has ruled Uganda since seizing power in 1986. A 2017 constitutional amendment removed the presidential age limit, eliminating the final legal hurdle to his continued stay in office. With the NRM holding a parliamentary majority, the change cleared the way for repeated runs.
Hundreds of party faithful gathered at ceremonial grounds in Kampala on Tuesday to celebrate the nomination and cheer the veteran leader.
Bobi Wine eyes rematch
Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu—better known by his stage name Bobi Wine—is scheduled to be nominated later this week. Wine captured 35 per cent of the vote in the 2021 election, against Museveni’s 58 per cent, the president’s narrowest margin in decades. Wine alleged widespread ballot stuffing and other irregularities, claims Uganda’s electoral authorities denied.
Uganda has one of the world’s youngest populations, with more than three quarters of citizens under 35, according to the UN children’s agency. This youthful demographic has bolstered Wine’s popularity, and his National Unity Platform holds the largest number of opposition seats in the national assembly.
Familiar clash ahead
The January poll is widely expected to reprise the intense 2021 contest. Museveni has repeatedly dismissed Wine as an agent of foreign interests and questioned his patriotism, but the challenger’s urban, working-class support remains strong.
With investors watching closely and political temperatures rising, Uganda is bracing for a pivotal election that could shape the nation’s political future.
