By The National Unity Platform (NUP) has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of plotting to block its president, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, from the 2026 presidential race after being informed that the party failed to secure the required endorsement signatures.
NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya told journalists on Friday afternoon that the party had received communication from the EC indicating that it had not met the threshold of signatures required for presidential nomination.
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“We condemn this in the strongest terms possible because we are just left with a few days to nomination. From the time we submitted our signatures, we have been asking the Commission to give us an update. We know we submitted more than the required signatures, but they are now saying we did not,” Rubongoya said.
Presidential nominations are scheduled for September 23–24, 2026, at the EC headquarters in Kampala. According to the law, presidential aspirants must present at least 100 signatures from 98 districts. Rubongoya insisted that NUP submitted signatures from over 130 districts, with each district contributing more than 100 signatories.
He further alleged that security operatives, including GISOs and parish chiefs, had been intimidating citizens who endorsed NUP, questioning them about why they signed for the opposition party. “Our supporters have been harassed. The EC now claims they were calling people to confirm whether they had signed for NUP, but this only targeted our party,” he charged.
Rubongoya contrasted the process with 2021, when the Commission reportedly verified signatures without subjecting NUP supporters to harassment. He accused both the EC and the government of orchestrating deliberate sabotage.
“They told us they will give us a comprehensive report to fill in the remaining signatures, but this is simply a delaying tactic. It is clear the regime is playing games to frustrate our candidate,” Rubongoya said.
President Yoweri Museveni and a few other aspirants have already been cleared, according to the EC. NUP, however, maintains that its candidate’s nomination remains at risk unless the Commission reverses its position.
The development sets the stage for a fresh standoff between Uganda’s largest opposition party and the EC, just days before the nomination window closes.
