Museveni takes 2026 General Election vote hunt to Madi-Okollo, Arua

MADI-OKOLLO - President Yoweri Museveni will today (Monday, October 13, 2025) address campaign rallies for the 2026 General Election in Madi-Okollo district and Arua city.

In the last general election, National Resistance Movement (NRM) party flag-bearer Museveni, who people refer to as an ‘old man with a hat’, got 23,824 (70.48%) votes in Arua and  Madi-Okollo 25,779 (69.52%), respectively.

Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine got 7,966 (23.57%) in Arua and 7,611 (20.52%) in Madi-okollo.

Kyagulanyi, who is a musician by training, is now running again for the country’s top job.

The other six presidential candidates are Joseph Kasibante of the National Peasants Party, Robert Mabirizi of Conservative Party, Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation Party, Nandala Mafabi of the Forum for Democratic Change, Mubarak Munyagwa of the Common Man’s Party and Frank Kabinga of the Revolutionary People’s Party.

Madi-Okollo was carved out of the greater Arua district in 2019, has two constituencies and eight sub-counties. In April 2020, Parliament established Arua city as a regional city for the West Nile sub-region, and it became operational on July 1, 2020.

Arua district was before comprised of the Arua Municipality, Ayivu, Vurra, Terego and Madi-Okollo counties.

Like many Ugandan districts, the economy of Arua is dependent on agriculture and employs over 80% of the total population, according to statistics from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in Kampala.

Fertile soils and a suitable climate combine to support the cultivation of a number of crops in most parts of the district.

“Agriculture is mainly subsistence (80%) and takes place on smallholdings of approximately two acres using mainly simple farming tools. Only 0.5% of the population is engaged in commercial agriculture. Family members constitute the single most important source of labour,” the OPM says. 

Expectations of residents

The 2024 National Population and Housing Census by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicated that Arua district and Arua city had a combined population of over 544,000 people, with most of them (384,656) living in the city and 159,722 residing in the rural part. 

Arua city is the main business hub of West Nile. In the sub-counties of Arivu, Logiri and Ajia, and Vurra town council, which make Arua district, the majority of the population is engaged in subsistence farming. 

Eminent persons in West Nile say the journey to transform the region started with initiatives to secure sustainable peace, unlike the early days of the National Resistance Movement (NRM)/Army, which were characterised by several rebel groups. 

'Our issues'

The local authorities and voters say the development priorities for Arua city and Arua district range from improvement of health services, education, agriculture and roads.

Both the voters and the leaders acknowledge the contribution of peace to the region. 

“Our mission is to have a prosperous district with healthy and prosperous people. As leaders, we are striving for a model district in the heart of West Nile and beyond because Arua is a grandmother district,” Alfred Okuonzi, the Arua LC5 chairperson, says.

On the service delivery front, Okuonzi says Arua was ranked 55th last year, up from 168th in 2020. 

“In a nutshell, Arua district has been improving despite the dwindling resources that we are receiving from the central government. We have been very creative and innovative enough to look for off-budget financing from development partners, including diplomatic embassies,” Okuonzi said. 

The district budget, he says, decreased from shillings 33 billion in 2024/2025 to 30 billion in 2025/2026. 

“Our request now is that we need a general hospital for the district,” he says.
Voters also want leaders to construct a technical institute to skill the booming youth population in Arua. Insufficient cash distributed in the Parish Development Model (PDM) is the other challenge that Okuonzi cited. 

“Some of our parishes may not benefit so much from the PDM because they are too wide. A case in point; Arivu parish in Ajia sub-county is comprised of only two villages and is receiving sh100m for the PDM. Then, we have another parish; Anyavu in Logiri sub-county with 19 villages, it is also receiving shillings 100 million. 

While the Arivu people are benefitting, those of Anyavu are losing out,” Okuonzi said. 
Voters also want the Government to elevate Vurra town council to municipality status. The construction of border markets is the other urgent need that Arua voters want leaders to address.