Nominations begin for FDC’s 2026 presidential flag bearer

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The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) is set to nominate candidates for the party’s presidential ticket in the 2026 general elections today, Wednesday.

Six aspirants recently picked nomination forms, including party president Patrick Amuriat and secretary general Nandala Mafabi.

The other aspirants—Dan Matsiko, Usaama Ssemogerere, Gerald Malinga, and Arinest Bumba—are relatively unknown to most Ugandans.

By press time, none of the aspirants had returned the completed nomination forms to the party’s electoral commission at its headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala.

Once nominated, the candidates will undergo a vetting process, participate in a public debate, and commence their campaigns.

The party’s national delegates’ conference, scheduled for July, will elect the FDC’s presidential flag bearer.

The main contest is expected to be between Mafabi and Amuriat, both of whom are seeking the nomination despite being at the centre of a financial scandal that has divided the party into two factions.

The opposing faction, based on Katonga Road in Kampala and led by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, is preparing to launch a new political party named the People’s Front for Freedom.

Posters of the candidates are pinned within the party's headquarters in Najjanankumbi, a Kampala suburb. (Credit: Francis Emorut)

The National Electoral Commission has announced that the next general election will be held between January 12 and February 9, 2026. Nominations for presidential, parliamentary, and local government candidates are scheduled to take place from June to October 2025.

FDC appoints Kaps Fungaroo acting party president.

Patrick Amuriat arrives.

Patrick Amuriat presents his papers before EC officials.