KAMPALA
In a significant clarification today, National Resistance Movement (NRM) officials have distanced the party’s presidential vote protection operation from efforts to safeguard votes for parliamentary and other party candidates in the forthcoming January 15, 2026 general election. The announcement was made at a press briefing held at the Office of the National Chairman (ONC) in Kyambogo by Hajjat Namyalo Hadijah Uzeiye and Dr. Tanga Odoi, senior figures in the party’s election strategy team.
The clarification follows widespread reportage earlier this week that the ruling party had launched a nationwide vote protection initiative, training thousands of party representatives and local coordinators to “guard the NRM victory” and ensure votes for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni are not lost or manipulated.
At today’s briefing, however, the NRM’s position was sharpened: agents mobilised for the president’s campaign will focus solely on safeguarding ballots cast for him, and will not be responsible for protecting the interests of parliamentary, local council or other party nominees. Party leaders underscored that all candidates including those contesting on the NRM ticket must appoint their own accredited polling agents to oversee vote counting and result declaration processes at polling stations.
“We have trained our structures for the presidential vote protection,” Hajjat Namyalo said. “But it is essential that every party candidate, whether NRM or otherwise, appoints and deploys legitimate polling agents in line with electoral laws.” Dr. Tanga Odoi echoed the sentiment, reinforcing that effective vote safeguarding begins with properly accredited agents at every polling station across the country.
Legal and Electoral Context
Uganda’s Electoral Commission has repeatedly emphasised that only duly appointed polling agents and authorised observers may legally be present during the voting and counting process. Justice Simon Byabakama, the EC chairperson, has clarified that once voters cast their ballots they should leave the polling station and may only return later to witness counting and that the law does not recognise “vote protection” teams outside the official framework of polling agents.
The electoral laws under the Presidential Elections Act allow candidates or their agents to be present during voting and counting to safeguard their interests. It is these agents, not informal “protectors,” who are legally empowered to ensure Declaration of Results (DR) forms accurately reflect outcomes.
The clarification comes amid heightened tension over how votes will be observed, protected and reported in what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched elections in Uganda’s recent history. Questions about vote protection and what constitutes legal participation on polling day have dominated political discourse as civil society, opposition parties and the ruling party prepare for January 15.
