Museveni Asks NRM Parliamentary Losers to Prepare for 2026 Elections

President Yoweri Museveni has asked members of the ruling National Resistance Movement who lost in the recent elections to start preparing for the 2026 elections.

The NRM Secretary General, Justine Kasule Lumumba revealed this while addressing journalists at the party Secretariat in Kampala on Sunday.

This follows a closed-door meeting held between Museveni and NRM leaning members of parliament at Kololo ceremonial grounds on Saturday.

According to Lumumba, during the meeting, Museveni who doubles as the NRM party chairperson discussed with the legislators the challenges they met during the campaigns and election, which he described as hectic.

Lumumba explains that Museveni advised the legislators who lost their seats in the recent elections not to give up but start preparing for the 2026 elections.  

NRM filed parliamentary candidates in all the 499 Constituencies but only 310 made it through the elections.  Independent leading NRM candidates win 64 seats, Uganda’s youngest political party the National Unity Platform-NUP won 56, independent NUP leaning candidates 3, FDC 34, independent FDC leaning candidates 3, UPC 10, independent UPC 3, DP 8, Independent/Ant leaning  3, JEEMA 1 and People Progressive Party- PPP 1 seat.

According to Lumumba, Museveni tasked the losers to return to parliament and continue executing their mandate up to May 11, 2021. Lumumba also spoke about the pending election petition, saying they don’t have to repent for anything since they didn’t commit any sin.

The NUP presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu is scheduled to petition the Supreme Court on Monday this week challenging the presidential election results. According to his lawyers, their candidate is opposed to the poll results on grounds that the elections were not free and fair.