By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
The National Unity Platform (NUP) has joined other opposition political parties in rejecting the results of the 2026 general elections, citing widespread electoral irregularities.
Speaking on Wednesday, the party Secretary General, David Lewis Rubongoya, said the results announced by Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama do not correspond with the Declaration of Results (DR) forms obtained by the party’s candidates and agents.
“We completely reject the results of the elections which were read by Justice Byabakama because they had no basis. Up to now, the Commission has not released the DR forms which he relied on to declare the results,” Rubongoya said.
Rubongoya said the party has gathered what he described as substantial evidence of electoral malpractice from DR forms obtained by its agents across the country. He demanded that the EC produces the DR forms used to declare the final results at the national tally centre in Lweza.
Under the Presidential Elections Act, the Electoral Commission is required to base its declaration of results on DR forms submitted by district returning officers, with copies shared with candidates and their respective political parties. However, this was not done
“We want the Electoral Commission to show what they based on to declare the results because we have our DR forms. Yes, we do not have all of them because in some places our polling agents were arrested and harassed, but we have a substantial number which we can use to challenge these irregularities,” he added.
Rubongoya also addressed concerns about the whereabouts of NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, saying he is alive but unwell and reportedly in hiding due to alleged security threats.
“What we can confirm is that our president is alive, although not well. He would not be hiding if the regime was not allegedly pursuing him to kill him,” Rubongoya said.
Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, criticised the militarisation of the electoral process, calling for comprehensive electoral reforms.
Ssenyonyi alleged incidents of ballot stuffing, result falsification, voter intimidation and post-election violence in several parts of the country.
“We saw irregularities even after the elections in places like Masaka City. Some of the things that happened were unprecedented,” Ssenyonyi said.
He also criticised a recent court ruling that overturned the election of NUP’s Rose Nalubowa as Masaka City Woman MP and declared Justine Nameere of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) the winner following a vote recount.
Ssenyonyi challenged the Judiciary to speak out against judicial inconsistencies happening in the country.
“It is a shame that the judiciary is quiet about these matters. While judicial officers have independence, where a judicial officer appears to go against his or her own ruling, the Judiciary should speak out to protect its integrity,” he said.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the Electoral Commission were still futile by press time.
