Uganda General Election 2026: Museveni Takes the Lead Early in the Counting of the Presidential Vote

• Uganda entered its 12th general election on January 15, with more than 21.6 million registered voters choosing among eight presidential candidates.
• Preliminary results from 133 polling stations showed President Yoweri Museveni (NRM) leading with 61.7 percent of the vote, his main rival, Bobi Wine of the NUP, trailing with 33.64 percent.
• The presidential race attracted a total of eight candidates, with the veteran Ugandan leader seeking his seventh term

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda he has the ability to win the presidency again, based on the previous declarations of the election commission.

On Thursday, January 15, Kenya’s western neighbor entered the 12th general election after independence.

Eight candidates are vying for the presidency, among them 81-year-old Museveni, who is defending his seat on the ticket of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Who are the Ugandan presidential candidates for the 2026 general election?

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Others are Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine (Forum of National Unity), former army commander Mugisha Muntu (Union for National Change), Nathan Nandala Mafabi (Forum for Democratic Change), Mubarak Munyagwa Sserunga (Common Man’s Party), Joseph Mabirizi (Conservative Party), Robert Kasibante (National People’s Party), and Frank Bulira Kabinga (Republican People’s Party).

More than 21.6 million Ugandans registered to participate in the vote.

By 4pm on Thursday, the electoral commission had confirmed the results from 133 polling stations out of a total of 50,739.

According to the results presented by the chairman of the commission, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, Museveni was leading with the most votes counted in 133 polling stations.

What are the results of Uganda’s presidential election?

The veteran leader got 14,232 votes, representing 61.7% of the total of 23,049 valid votes. Bobi Wine of NUP came second with 7,753 votes, representing 33.64% of valid votes.

Other candidates; Kabinga got 84 votes (0.36%), Kasibante (66, 0.29%), Mabirizi (45, 0.20%), Mugisha (164, 0.71%), Munyagwa (145, 0.63%), and Mafabi (560, 2.43%).

Earlier, Bobi Wine claimed that the election suffered from many defects.

The presidential candidate claimed that voting, kidnapping of polling agents, and deliberate shutdown of the internet took place while voting was going on across the country.

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As citizens lined up to cast their votes, the singer-turned-politician called on the international community to closely monitor events, warning that the integrity of the vote was at stake.

Bobi accused the ruling party of planning systematic theft.

According to him, reports from across the country indicated ballot rigging, failure of biometric voter verification (BVVK) devices, and threats targeting opposition officials.

He added that several senior leaders within his party had been arrested, while many polling agents and administrators were allegedly kidnapped or expelled from polling stations.

Wine said that Ugandans were being denied a transparent process and urged citizens to oppose what he described as an illegal system.

He also called on the international community not to recognize the results of the process which he said had been severely compromised.

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