MASAKA, Uganda — More than 800 candidates have been declared elected unopposed as Local Council I (LC I) chairpersons across Uganda’s Greater Masaka and Greater Luwero sub-regions, handing the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) a significant advantage before today’s nationwide village elections.
The Electoral Commission (EC) is conducting LC I chairperson elections in all villages across the country, with voter verification scheduled between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. before voting begins at 11:00 a.m. Results are expected to be announced between 11:30 a.m. and noon, after which successful chairpersons will oversee the nomination of members of their village Executive Committees, subject to approval by the village assembly.
Candidates elected unopposed will not participate in Tuesday’s voting but will proceed directly to the next stage of constituting village leadership structures.
In the Greater Masaka sub-region, comprising nine districts and Masaka City, more than 500 candidates secured victory without facing challengers.
Rakai District recorded the highest number with 121 unopposed candidates, followed by Lyantonde District with 85, while Masaka City registered 31. Other districts reported between 50 and 80 uncontested victories.
Among the villages with unopposed candidates are Kaliro A, Kaliro B, Kooki C, Mukokooma LC I and Kyabazala in Lyantonde Town Council.
In the Greater Luwero sub-region, Nakaseke District recorded at least 110 unopposed candidates, followed by Nakasongola with 85 and Luwero District with 80.
According to local election officials, all unopposed candidates in the three districts belong to the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Villages with uncontested candidates in Nakasongola include Muslim Zone, Mayanja Zone, Bizibutukula, Nalukonge, Wamukende, Kateebe, Lwandama, Karubanga, Nakakola and Kyadoboka.
In Nakaseke District, villages including Kimwanyi, Kiteredde, Kireku, Nkozi B, Bambaga, Ssebuguzi, Kalagala B, Kifumbe, Ssekanyonyi and Kyetume also recorded unopposed victories.
The NRM said the outcome reflects the strength of its nationwide grassroots structures.
Deputy Secretary General Rose Namayanja Nsereko said the ruling party fielded candidates in all 71,214 villages across Uganda and argued that many were elected unopposed because opposition parties failed to present challengers.
Namayanja said no opposition party currently possesses an organisational network comparable to the NRM’s village-level presence, describing LC I leadership as the foundation of effective service delivery.
However, opposition leaders strongly disputed that interpretation.
Luwero District Chairperson Erastus Kibirango argued that the absence of challengers in many villages resulted from fear and alleged intimidation rather than political popularity.
He claimed some aspiring candidates were discouraged from contesting because of alleged harassment by state security agencies and concerns that the elections could be affected by irregularities similar to those reported during previous electoral exercises.
In Greater Masaka, opposition leaders also questioned the credibility of the process.
Ronald Kasekende, the Nyendo-Mukungwe Division Chairperson in Masaka City and a campaign coordinator, alleged that village registers had been manipulated to remove opposition supporters, including prospective candidates.
“On the closure of the nomination, we discovered that many village registers were tampered with to remove opposition supporters, including candidates, who the Electoral Commission (EC) could not proceed to nominate,” Kasekende said.
Despite those allegations, he acknowledged that the National Unity Platform (NUP) also secured three uncontested LC I chairperson positions.
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The unopposed NUP candidates are from Njumaga, Kirumba and Kayirikiti Piida cells in Nyendo-Mukungwe Division.
According to Kasekende, the Electoral Commission disqualified NRM candidates in those villages after determining they had failed to resign from public office before seeking nomination for the LC I elections.
The LC I elections are among Uganda’s most important grassroots polls, with village chairpersons serving as the first level of local governance and playing key roles in dispute resolution, community mobilisation and implementation of government programmes.
The unusually high number of unopposed victories has nevertheless reignited debate over political competition at the village level, with the ruling party portraying the results as evidence of broad grassroots support while opposition leaders argue they expose deeper concerns about the fairness and competitiveness of Uganda’s electoral environment.
