NRM elections tribunal to decide fate of petitioners in 35 days

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The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party is expected to start hearing and determining the fate of petitions arising from the party’s parliamentary and local council primary elections on Tuesday, July 29, with the process set to run until September 1, 2025.

The NRM elections disputes tribunal was established following the recently concluded party primaries for parliamentary flagbearers. Its main objective is to receive, hear, and resolve petitions stemming from the electoral process.

The petition hearings will take place at Plot 30, Kyadondo Road in Nakasero.

While addressing the media on Saturday, July 26, John Musiime, the chairperson of the NRM elections tribunal, revealed that the 29-member tribunal had been subdivided into eight panels. These panels are comprised of highly competent, ethical legal professionals and trusted party cadres.

“To effectively manage this task, the tribunal has been organised into eight panels, composed of highly competent, ethical legal professionals and trusted cadres of the Party. Hearings will commence on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, at 9:00am sharp and on a daily basis, we expect to handle a minimum of 56 petitions,” Musiime said, adding that each panel will include three lawyers, including a lead lawyer.

John Musiime (L) the NRM chairperson of the elections tribunal and Enoch Barata, the director legal for the NRM party arriving at the NRM legal offices on Kyadondo road for a press conference. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)

He further stated that the tribunal would use the 35-day period to address both parliamentary and local government election petitions. As of Friday, the tribunal had received a total of 381 petitions from parliamentary aspirants alone.

“As of this morning, the tribunal has received 381 petitions from across the country,” Musiime said, noting that proactive steps would be taken to notify respondents through mainstream media, electronic communication, and direct telephone calls using the contact information provided at nomination.

“Our mandate is to ensure that all grievances are addressed fairly, expeditiously, and in strict adherence to the NRM Constitution, the NRM Election Regulations 2025, and the applicable national laws,” he said.

Musiime disclosed that the petitions involve allegations such as vote rigging, multiple voting, violence, obstruction of polling agents, participation of ineligible candidates, and procedural irregularities during voting and tallying.

He said that during the petition hearings, each party would be allowed a maximum of five people, including legal counsel. However, parties are free to file written evidence from as many witnesses as they wish.

The tribunal chairperson noted that morning sessions would be reserved for specially scheduled matters, while in the afternoons, only parties scheduled for that session would be required to report to the venue.

“Let me assure all petitioners, respondents, and the public that the tribunal is fully committed to competence, transparency, and fairness. Every party will be afforded a fair opportunity to be heard, and all decisions will be based strictly on the law and the evidence presented,” Musiime said. He urged all parties to respect the tribunal’s procedures, adhere to the scheduled timelines, and comply with its rulings to ensure a timely resolution.

Musiime added that the strength of the NRM lies in its ability to resolve internal disputes through structured, principled, and evidence-based mechanisms. He said the tribunal represents this commitment.

On his part, Enoch Barata, the director of legal affairs for the NRM, clarified that the tribunal will not handle any criminal offences committed by party members or registrars, noting that such matters fall under the criminal justice system.

“Let us distinguish between the internal party dispute resolution mechanism versus the external overall law and order justice system,” Barata said, adding that police arrests would not interfere with the tribunal’s work.

Although the tribunal is set to begin making decisions on petitions next week, some candidates have vowed to defy the party’s position and run as independents, citing unfairness in the primaries.

NRM secretary general Richard Todwong warned that party members planning to run as independents must reconsider.

“Those that are planning to run as independents should cool down and stop being emotional. At this stage, we wouldn’t encourage one to run as an independent. If the party wishes, the party will clear them. Even if one decides to go independent, the party will have to fight to clear you so that in case you win, you will have to come and work with the party,” Todwong said.

He added, “If one insists on running as an independent without understanding the circumstances under which they have not been given the party flag, the party might consider them as indisciplined members.”

Without naming specific candidates or constituencies, Todwong said there are individuals who were denied the party flag, and measures will be taken.

He said the party is working to reconcile members and respond to petitions, and is preparing to deploy a team to move across the country to engage voters and candidates.

“Elections should not be a do-or-die. If a person comes for an election, he should know that they will either win or someone else wins.”

Last Thursday, a total of 539 candidates vied for LC5, lord mayor and city mayor positions. Of these, seven were unopposed, 30 are eyed mayor seats, seven contested for lord mayor, and 495 sought LC5 positions.

On July 17, a total of 2,165 parliamentary hopefuls were nominated. Among them, 1,579 are contesting for constituency MP positions and 586 for district woman MP seats.

Out of the 2,165, 17 candidates were unopposed, leaving 2,148 to compete for the 353 available constituency and woman MP party flag slots.

Polling for both parliamentary and local council elections was conducted across all 72,000 villages in Uganda.