Govt urged to honour sh27b political parties campaign funding commitment

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Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC) party president Jimmy Akena has urged the Government to honour its commitment to provide shillings 35 billion in campaign funding to political parties which participated in the 2026 general elections to facilitate multiparty democracy.

Akena's call comes amidst concerns over the Government's financial management and allegations of favouritism and facilitation towards the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party candidates during the elective season.

“It has been the norm for the NRM candidates in the field to appear heavily loaded with campaign cash than Opposition candidates due to deliberate underfunding of multiparty democracy as provided for by the Constitution, which compromises the minds of voters during the exercise,” Akena said.

Addressing the media at UPC headquarters in Kampala city, in a recap of the concluded 2026 general elections on February 11, 2026, Akena said parties have been squeezed without funding to conduct party activities.

“As UPC, we were supposed to get shillings 4.5 billion as agreed during the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) meeting we had with President Yoweri Museveni at Kololo Independence Ground last year, but it was not the case due to red-tape bureaucracy and corruption,” Akena added.

The Government had previously committed to providing funding to political parties represented in Parliament, but Akena argues that this commitment has not been fulfilled.

“We did not receive the funding as mandated by the law regarding political parties’ representation in Parliament, but during elections, the funding is done equally. In 2021, we were supposed to share shillings two billion on the 10 billion given to five parties, including NRM, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Justice Forum (JEEMA), Democratic Party (DP) and Peoples’ Progressive Party (PPP). During the 2026 elections, UPC was entitled to shillings 4.8 billion, but I did not expect it because there was no enabling law before parliament to affect the payments," he said.

UPC party supporter congratulating the winner of Ajuri county seat Member of Parliament Fred Jalameso before addressing the press at Uganda House party headquarters in Kampala on Wednesday.

“We should have been given shillings two billion arrears of the 2021 general elections that President Museveni had directed the Electoral Commission to release at least to help us in 2026, but we have never got the funds,” he insisted.

DP cries out 

DP President General Nobert Mao said they had agreed with the Government in principle, based on the resolution of the IPOD summit at Kololo, that all Opposition political parties were supposed to receive campaign money before the January 2026 General Election.

“We are disappointed by the Government’s failure to remit campaign funds to Opposition political parties during the last concluded general elections. DP demands shillings two billion arrears from the Government, but it was never paid, and we struggled during the campaigning exercise,” Mao, who is also justice minister, said when contacted.

“The NRM government decided not to process the payment in the supplementary schedule because there was no consensus between the UPC party and government before the money was halted,” Mao said.

As DP, we demand over shillings two billion in arrears, but due to the fact that the NRM is largely afraid of competition with the opposition political parties in elections, we missed out on the funds, which frustrated our campaign strategies, he added.

The DP leader emphasised that the funding is crucial for parties to effectively participate in the democratic process and represent their constituents, contending that it is essential for ensuring fair competition and promoting democracy.

In May 2025, Parliament passed the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2025, conditioning government funding for political parties on their commitment to democratic principles.

The Government requires parties to adhere to principles of tolerance, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence to qualify for funding.

EC reacts

According to Electoral Commission spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi, the electoral body could not release the funds as soon as it was released by the finance ministry due to lack of regulations.

Last year, the largest Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party dragged the Attorney General to court, protesting its exclusion from the statutory political party funding. Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, who is the principal legal advisor to the government, was sued alongside EC, with the matter yet to be determined by court.

Despite holding 57 Parliamentary seats, NUP’s funds amounting to shillings 1.4 billion was withheld pending formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IPOD.