Uganda’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has formally endorsed President Yoweri Museveni as its candidate for next year’s general election, setting the stage for his bid to extend his nearly four decades in power.
At 80 years old, Museveni accepted the nomination on Wednesday during the party’s delegate conference in Kampala, thanking the NRM for its continued trust.
“What is in this booklet is what the NRM has achieved. When we came in, we knew exactly what to do, and that’s why the economy of Uganda has recovered. And as I speak today, we have gone through five phases,” Museveni told delegates, waving a party pamphlet.
Museveni first took power in 1986 as leader of a rebel force. Since then, he has been elected six times, aided by constitutional amendments that scrapped term limits and removed the presidential age cap. A victory in January would see him approach five decades at Uganda’s helm.
Opponents argue Museveni has entrenched authoritarian rule, suppressing dissent and hollowing out internal party competition. But the president maintains his leadership is legitimate, insisting he is returned to office through elections held every five years.
Museveni continues to enjoy significant support in rural areas, where many Ugandans credit him with maintaining relative peace and security, despite growing discontent in urban centres.
His most prominent challenger remains Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, the singer-turned-politician who has once again declared his candidacy. Wine, 43, lost the 2021 election to Museveni by 35 to 58 percent in a vote marred by violence and accusations of fraud.
Wine has warned that Uganda’s political climate has “gone from bad to worse” ahead of the upcoming polls, citing threats to himself and activists working to unseat Museveni.
“The threats we face come in no unclear terms,” he said recently, while urging supporters to deliver a “protest vote” against Museveni’s government.
A self-styled “ghetto president,” Wine draws heavily on his roots in a poor Kampala neighbourhood and his music career, which evolved into political commentary critical of Museveni’s rule. His election to parliament in 2017 marked his formal entry into politics, though his rallies are frequently blocked by security forces citing public order concerns.
Another of Museveni’s longtime rivals, Kizza Besigye, remains in detention facing treason charges his supporters denounce as politically motivated. His absence leaves Wine as the main opposition figure in a contest that will test the durability of Museveni’s grip on Uganda.
With the election set for January, Uganda braces for yet another face-off between an entrenched incumbent and an emboldened opposition, under a political climate already fraught with tension and allegations of repression.
Melissa Enoch
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