No special or ‘state’ candidates in NRM — Todwong

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The National Resistance Movement (NRM) says all nominated candidates in the party are equal and there are no special or ‘state candidates.’

NRM secretary general Richard Todwong in a letter issued on June 24, 2025, also warns that any candidate found interfering with the internal democratic process of the party shall be subjected to the party disciplinary committee and shall also be handed over to law enforcement.

In the letter to all the nominated candidates, Todwong congratulates them for their successful nomination to the various positions.

“I appreciate your support for the NRM and your decision to contest in the NRM primaries,” Todwong says.

“According to Article 6 of the NRM Party Constitution, campaigns for the primary elections for the Members of Parliament (MPs) and Local Council (LC5) chairpersons must be conducted jointly. Additionally, it is recognised that the village will always act as our polling stations, where members will vote by lining up behind the candidate or portraits of candidates of their choice,” Todwong added.

“This is to, therefore, clarify that there are no preferred candidates or, state candidates as I have heard other supporters refer to their candidates. Every nominated candidate has the same equal rights to campaign and the party shall declare the legitimate winner as the official party candidate,” he states.

Todwong also asks all nominated candidates to note that Schedule 4 of the constitution of the NRM party is explicit regarding discipline and the code of conduct for the party members.

“Any party official or staff member found interfering with the internal democratic process of the party shall be subjected to the party disciplinary committee and shall also be handed over to law enforcement agencies for further action. Please take this matter seriously, as there will be no compromise on this,” Todwong warned.

The NRM deadline for picking nomination forms for candidates in the NRM party primaries ended on June 14, 2024, with their electoral commission chairperson Fred Tanga Odoi saying the party still had support across the country.

Todwong’s warning comes in the wake of several candidates who picked forms opting to contest as independents on allegations that some of their competitors were being favored by the state.

This was after over 2,800 aspirants hoping to become NRM flag bearers picked forms from the party headquarters ahead of the 2026 general elections.

Several other parties which include the National Unity Platform, and Forum for Democratic Change also opened up their nominations for the different positions in the 2026 general elections.