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East Africa

President Yoweri Museveni Nominated to Extend Four-Decade Rule in Uganda’s 2026 Election

July 6, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

Uganda’s long-time leader, President Yoweri Museveni, has officially been nominated by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party as its presidential candidate for the upcoming 2026 general elections. This nomination could pave the way for Museveni, who has held power since 1986, to extend his presidency well into a fifth decade.

The announcement was made on Saturday through a post on the social media platform X, in which the NRM also confirmed that Museveni will continue to serve as the party’s national chairman for another five years. At 80 years old, Museveni remains one of Africa’s longest-serving heads of state.

His tenure began after leading a five-year guerrilla insurgency that ousted the previous regime. Since then, Uganda’s constitution has been amended twice by the ruling party—first to remove presidential term limits and later to eliminate the age cap for presidential candidates. These changes effectively allowed Museveni to remain eligible for successive re-elections.

Critics and human rights groups have long accused Museveni of using state resources, patronage networks, and the country’s security apparatus to entrench his power and suppress opposition. Museveni, however, has consistently denied these allegations.

In June, Museveni publicly declared his intention to seek re-election, citing his ambition to transform Uganda’s economy. He set an ambitious goal of expanding the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) from its current level of approximately USD 66 billion to USD 500 billion within five years.

The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for January 2026. One of Museveni’s main challengers will again be Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine—a former musician who has emerged as a prominent opposition leader. Wine was the runner-up in the 2021 presidential election, which he claimed was marred by widespread fraud, including vote tampering and state-led intimidation of voters and opposition supporters.

As Uganda heads toward a potentially pivotal election, the political landscape is already heating up, with many viewing the contest as a crucial test for the country’s democratic institutions and future stability.