NRM district, city elections across the country as it happened

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Minister Musasizi re-elected in Rubanda

State Minister of Finance (General Duties) Henry Musasizi won and retained the Rubanda District National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party mainstream chairmanship, garnering 503 votes.

His opponents, Diaz Drake Owoyesigire and Jackson Tumweboneire trailed far behind, with Owoyesigire securing 43 votes and Tumweboneire failing to secure a single vote.

Notably, Tumweboneire abandoned the electoral process prematurely, departing the venue before the official vote count and announcement.

The election was conducted from Rubanda town council grounds, and Monday Aggrey, the NRM registrar for Rubanda presided over the exercise.

In his victory speech, Minister Musasizi called upon party members and supporters to unite and work towards advancing the party’s agenda in the district.

He emphasised the importance of cohesion and urged delegates to reject sectarianism and divisionism, promoting a unified approach to the district’s development.

Norman Tushobomwe, the Mayor Rubanda town council was also elected unopposed as the vice chairperson.

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Minister Aceng wins unopposed in Lira

The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, has been elected unopposed as the NRM district chairperson for Lira District. Aceng, who also serves as the Lira City Woman MP, was declared the duly elected chairperson during the NRM district structures elections held at Ambalal Primary School playgrounds in the West Division of Lira City, as no one expressed interest in contesting against her.

In the same elections, Johnson Ochol, a businessman from Lira City, was also elected unopposed as Vice Chairperson. He will serve alongside Aceng, with Morris Ongom and Denis Okello taking on the roles of General Secretary and Secretary of Finance, respectively.

In her inaugural speech, Dr Aceng pledged to work diligently for party members to ensure they experience true leadership.

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Jinja LC5 Batwala wins in Jinja

Jinja district LC5 chairperson Moses Batwala has been elected as the NRM district chairperson after receiving 165 votes in an election that was marred by chaos.

Supporters of his opponent, Steven Mwesigye Ngobi, the former LC3 chairperson of Buwenge town council, accused the district NRM party registrar, Paul Kiwanuka Kabale, of being biased and influenced by the resident district commissioner, Michael Kibwika.

As the verification exercise was nearing completion, Ngobi's supporters confronted security personnel and Kibwika, demanding that their counterparts, who had been locked outside, be allowed to enter, but their pleas went unheard. A heated verbal exchange ensued between the security forces and Ngobi's supporters.

Despite Batwala standing with his supporters, Ngobi chose not to participate and walked away with his camp instead. Nevertheless, Kabale proceeded to count the votes and declared Batwala the winner.

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MP Angura, Otabong win in Tororo

Tororo South County MP Fredrick Angura has been re-elected as the chairperson of the Tororo County NRM party branch after receiving 631 votes. His only rival, Wilson Obonyo Songa, garnered just 3 votes.

Additionally, Godfrey Othieno Otabong was re-elected as the district chairperson, also with 631 votes, defeating his opponent, David Asabo, who received 49 votes.

Other elected officials include Francis Olweny as General Secretary, former New Vision journalist Abraham Odeke as Secretary for Publicity, and Nicholas Owino as Secretary for Finance.

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Elections halted in Yumbe

Elections in Yumbe District have been suspended until further notice following violent clashes during the voting process, reports Adam Gule.

The exercise began smoothly, with party supporters turning out in large numbers to participate. However, chaos erupted when voting commenced for the highly contested position of district NRM chairperson.

Tensions flared between supporters of the incumbent chairperson, Aniku Majid Haruna, and those backing his rival, Yumbe District Speaker Kassim Asiku. Another candidate in the race, Rasul Aluma, is a former RDC and the current councilor representing Midigo Town Council.

Conflict escalated after Asiku's camp accused Aniku of introducing ineligible voters to manipulate the election outcome.

The accusations quickly led to verbal exchanges and subsequently physical confrontations, forcing electoral officials to suspend the process for safety reasons.

Speaking to the press, Asiku alleged that his rival, the incumbent, transported ineligible voters and used an emergency entrance to the district headquarters, where the voting was taking place.

Asiku called for a fresh verification of the voters before the voting could resume. "I can't accept a voting process where ineligible voters are allowed to participate. For the voting to continue, a new verification exercise must be conducted," said Asiku.

Aluma also accused the incumbent of election rigging. He stated that before the actual voting began, Aniku had already amassed a line of hundreds of supporters.

Aniku denied the allegations, referring to them as a sign of defeat. He claimed that all voters were verified at the gates before being allowed in and that he had no power to bring in additional voters.

The NRM district registrar, Morphat Mafu, condemned the violence, attributing the chaos to candidates' dissatisfaction with the earlier predicted results.

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Chaos in Sembabule

Ambassador James Kinobe, who oversaw the NRM party elections in Sembabule district, attempted to calm the state minister for health, Hanifa Kawoya, and her supporters at the district playground.

The election process had stalled until 2:30 pm after endless complaints. Hanifa Kawoya claimed that she was beaten by policemen and was feeling unwell. Kawoya, who is contesting for district NRM chairperson, is facing off with Gen. Phinehas Kaitirima, reports Dismus Buregyeya.

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Jinja NRM top seat attracts two contenders

The race for the top seat in the Jinja district NRM attracted two contenders: the district LC5 chairperson, Moses Batwala, and Steven Ngobi Mwesigye, the former LC3 chairperson of Buwenge Town Council.

By 8:00 AM, voters had already gathered at Buwenge Parents Primary School in Buwenge Town Council. However, they were not allowed to enter the school by the police until their identities were verified. Access to the school was blocked until the names of eligible voters were read aloud.

By 1:50 PM, the NRM district registrar, Paul Kiwanuka Kabale, was still in the process of reading the names of valid voters before they could proceed to the polling grounds.

While Kabale continued to read the names, frustrated supporters confronted security officers, expressing their anger at the situation and demanding to know why some voters were being locked out of the voting venue, as reported by Jackie Nambogga.

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Long queues and patience in Yumbe

In Yumbe district, voters had to find places to sit while waiting for verification before they could vote at the district headquarters.

Meanwhile, Muslim voters held Juma prayers at the district headquarters since time did not allow them to go to the mosque and return, as reported by Adam Gule.

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Lamwo voter arrested for impersonation

In Lamwo District, George Obwoo was arrested for using another person's name to vote, according to our reporter. His arrest caused disruption in an election that had been largely peaceful up until that point.

The deputy resident district commissioner, Sebestian Oguti, confirmed the arrest, stating that Obwoo, a resident of Madi Opei sub-county, would be charged with violating the guidelines of the NRM party structure elections.

The elections in the district began at approximately 1:00 PM at the district resource centre. Police were heavily deployed to prevent any potential disruptions or violence.

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Tension in Soroti

There was tension in Soroti district as voters prepared to choose their leaders, reported Godfrey Ojore. Soroti City MP Herbert Edmund Ariko was running for the position against two opponents, Moses Eriau and Justine Ooja.

The district police commander spent time and effort calming the agitated supporters of Eriau, who were accusing Ariko of attempting to bring in unregistered voters. To ensure fairness, James Egaru, the district party registrar, conducted a roll call to verify the rightful members.
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Verification and preparation to vote

In Jinja, Donald Kiirya reported that security personnel from the Uganda Police and the UPDF were deployed at the Civil Service College of Uganda for the NRM structure elections.

Verification of eligible voters began around 11:30 am. The candidates for the NRM chairperson position were introduced to their supporters amidst cheers. They included Edwin Lufafa, Faruwa Katakule, Isma Kinyiri, Mohammed Nkuutu, David Talent, and Ronald Isiko.

Some of the candidates for the vice chairperson position included Moses Balyeku, Ahmed Binasali, Elly Frank Ngobi, and Rose Kalikwani.

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Police deployed ahead of polls in Tororo

By noon, elections hadn’t started at Rock View Primary School grounds, where the elections for Tororo district were held.

Police were deployed heavily to avert any possibility of violence as new entrant Brian Osuna tussled it out with the incumbent Yeri Apollo Ofwono for the position of NRM district chairperson. Report filed by Faustine Odeke.
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2026 polls: NRM conducts party structure elections

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) has again gone to the polls, this time conducting elections for party structures at the district and city levels. They recently held NRM village elections across the country.

Part of today's (Friday, May 23) program is the election of workers and entrepreneurs’ leagues at the same level. By 10:00 am, party voters had started converging at the various venues countrywide.