KAMPALA, UGANDA — The National Resistance Movement (NRM), Uganda’s governing political party, has officially delineated its electoral strategy for the 2025/2026 general elections, thereby establishing the preliminary framework for the nation’s forthcoming political cycle.
Richard Todwong, the NRM Secretary-General, presented the detailed roadmap during a press briefing at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday. He was accompanied by key members of the party secretariat, who assisted in outlining the plan. This plan is designed to be consistent with the party’s foundational ideological principles: Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-Economic Transformation, and Democracy.
In his address during the launch, Todwong underscored the critical importance of the electoral roadmap, which is scheduled to commence on April 24 with the expression of interest and nomination of LC1 chairpersons and village party structure officials.
“This is a very important milestone for our party. We call upon all party members and stakeholders to take keen interest and observe the dates proposed for each activity,” stated Todwong.
He further disclosed that the NRM currently maintains a membership of 20.7 million, representing approximately 40% of Uganda’s total population.
“We have an authentic digitalized members register which we are going to use in our internal party election and for mobilization,” Todwong noted. “We have 20.7 million members of the party and over 19.8 million registered party voters.”
The party’s membership is composed of 10.8 million female members and 9.8 million male members, with 7.4 million youth, 1.7 million elderly members, and 458,000 members aged between 16 and 18, as registration begins at age 16.
The electoral roadmap, which spans from April 2025 to February 2026, delineates a structured schedule of internal party procedures, ranging from grassroots elections to the nomination of the party’s presidential flag bearer.
The roadmap is set to begin on April 24, 2025, with the expression of interest and nomination of LC1 leaders. This will be followed by the election of LC1 flag bearers and village party officials on May 6, 2025.
The NRM is scheduled to conduct its primaries for parliamentary candidates on July 16, 2025, while July 24, 2025, is allocated for primaries to select Local Council V (LCV) chairpersons, mayors, and councilors.
Elections for Local Council III (LCIII) chairpersons and councilors are slated for August 18, 2025.
The nomination of presidential candidates is scheduled to take place on October 2–3, 2025.
Finally, the national polling period for the President, Members of Parliament, and local government councils will span from January 12 to February 9, 2026.
The roadmap also incorporates timelines for delegate conferences, the nomination of candidates for local government and parliamentary positions by the Electoral Commission, and designated periods for open campaigning.
