KAMPALA, Uganda — The 2026 general election has reaffirmed a political reality that successive governments have struggled to overturn: Buganda remains the epicentre of organised opposition politics in Uganda.
While the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) secured 55 parliamentary seats across the Buganda region, the National Unity Platform (NUP) has secured 41 seats, a commanding and symbolically powerful presence, underlining the region’s continued resistance to state-backed political consolidation.
The result is not merely a contest of numbers. It is a reflection of identity, grievance, generational politics, and unresolved questions of governance, all of which continue to shape Buganda’s electoral behaviour.
A region that votes with memory
Buganda’s political posture has long been shaped by a complex relationship with the central state—one marked by historical marginalisation, disputes over land, federalism debates, and cultural autonomy.
In 2026, these undercurrents once again translated into strong backing for NUP candidates, particularly in urban, peri-urban, and youth-dominated constituencies.
Despite NRM’s inroads, often attributed to incumbency advantages, state mobilisation, and local patronage networks, NUP maintained dominance in Kampala, Mukono, Wakiso, Masaka, and key municipalities, areas that have consistently acted as bellwethers of protest politics.
The confirmed list of NUP Members of Parliament from Buganda includes a broad mix of veteran opposition figures, young mobilisers, legal activists, and first-time legislators, signalling both continuity and renewal within the party’s ranks.
Urban politics and the youth factor
Buganda’s cities and rapidly expanding suburbs remain fertile ground for NUP. High youth unemployment, rising living costs, aggressive security deployments during campaigns, and repeated internet shutdowns have hardened scepticism toward the ruling establishment.
Figures such as Joel Ssenyonyi (Nakawa West), Shamim Malende (Kampala Woman), Francis Zaake (Mityana Municipality), Betty Nambooze (Mukono Municipality), and Muwada Nkunyingi (Kyadondo East) continue to anchor NUP’s image as a party rooted in urban dissent and rights-based politics.
For many voters, especially younger ones, NUP represents less a conventional political party and more a vehicle for resistance, a rejection of what they see as militarised governance and shrinking civic space.
NRM’s gains, NUP’s narrative victory
NRM’s 55-seat haul across Buganda is not insignificant. It reflects targeted constituency-level strategies, internal opposition fractures, and, in some areas, voter fatigue with confrontational politics. However, NRM’s gains have not translated into ideological dominance.
Also Read: Anger, apathy, and acceptance as NRM regains ground in Kampala
Crucially, the ruling party has failed to reclaim the narrative space. Buganda’s political discourse remains shaped by questions of accountability, electoral credibility, and state overreach, issues that continue to favour opposition messaging.
In this sense, NUP’s survival is its success.
What this means nationally
Buganda’s voting pattern once again exposes the limits of Uganda’s centralised political model.
Even after nearly four decades in power, the ruling establishment has been unable to neutralise opposition sentiment in the country’s most politically influential region.
As Parliament takes shape, NUP’s Buganda bloc is expected to remain vocal on security excesses, governance reforms, electoral accountability, and urban social justice, reinforcing the region’s role as a pressure point within national politics.
The 2026 election has therefore delivered a familiar but telling verdict: NRM may govern Uganda, but it does not command Buganda’s political imagination.
The following Members of Parliament (MPs) have been confirmed as the NUP representatives for their respective constituencies in Buganda:
- Abdallah Kiwanuka — Mukono North
- Abubaker Kawalya — Lubaga North
- Ali Kasirye Nganda Mulyanyama — Makindye East
- Betty Ethel Naluyima — Wakiso Woman
- Betty Nambooze — Mukono Municipality
- Blasio Mukasa Zambaali — Nansana Municipality
- Brendah Nabukenya — Luweero Woman
- Charles Tebandeke — Bbaale
- David Lukyamuzi Kalwanga — Busujju
- David Sserukenya — Makindye Ssaabagabo
- Denes Ssekabira — Katikamu North
- Erias Nalukoola — Kawempe North
- Eugenia Nassolo — Lubaga South
- Fortunate Nantongo — Kyotera Woman
- Francis Zaake — Mityana Mun.
- George Musisi — Kira Municipality
- Godfrey Saazi — Gomba East
- Hakim Kizza Sawula — Bukoto South
- Harriet Nakweede — Kayunga
- Hassan Kirumira — Katikamu South
- Hellen Nakimuli — Kalangala Woman
- Ivan Kyeyune — Nakasongola County
- Jimmy Kanaabi — Buikwe
- Joan Namutaawe — Masaka Woman
- Joel Ssenyonyi — Nakawa West
- Joseph Sewungu — Kalungu West
- Lubowa Ssebina Gyaviira — Nyendo-Mukungwe
- Moses Lukanga Musanje — Njeru Municipality
- Muwada Nkunyingi — Kyadondo East
- Patrick Kuteesa — Kimanya-Kabonera
- Patrick Nsamba Oshabe — Kassanda North
- Robert Maseruka — Mukono South
- Robert Ssekitooleko — Baamunanika
- Rose Nalubowa — Masaka City
- Shamim Malende — Kampala Woman
- Sheilah Amaniyo — Mukono Woman MP
- Sulaiman Kiwanuka — Nakifuma County
- Sumayah Nabawanuka — Mubende Municipality
- Teddy Nambooze — Mpigi Woman MP
- Yusuf Kiruluuta Nkerettanyi — Kalungu East
- Zaharah Luyirika — Makindye West
