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Uganda’s long-serving president, Yoweri Museveni, aged 80, has been formally endorsed as the ruling party’s candidate for the country’s 2026 presidential election, potentially extending his nearly four-decade grip on power.
Speaking at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) conference on Saturday, Museveni accepted the nomination and pledged to continue his mission of transforming Uganda into a “high upper middle income country.”
“Other countries in Asia, with fewer natural resources, achieved it. We can do it,” he told supporters, emphasising stability and economic progress under his rule.
Museveni, who seized power as a rebel leader in 1986, has won every election since then. Uganda’s constitution was amended twice—once to remove term limits, and later to abolish the age cap—allowing him to remain in office.
Critics accuse Museveni of authoritarian rule, citing widespread human rights abuses, suppression of dissent, and electoral manipulation.
Pop star-turned-opposition leader Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, is expected to be Museveni’s main challenger in the election scheduled for January 2026. Wine has denounced growing state repression and told the BBC in April that opposition members are often labelled as terrorists.
Wine lost to Museveni in the 2021 presidential election, securing 35% of the vote to Museveni’s 59%, in a poll marred by widespread allegations of rigging, media censorship, and a brutal crackdown on opposition supporters.
Meanwhile, another opposition figure, Dr Kizza Besigye, remains in detention since November on treason charges, which he strongly denies, claiming his arrest is politically motivated.
Museveni said Uganda must not “miss the bus of history” and fall behind as Europe once advanced and Africa stagnated. He called for a “qualitative leap” in national development, pledging to deliver prosperity and modernisation if re-elected.
