Uganda announces public holidays before the 2026 election
Ugandans will have time to take part in the presidential and parliamentary elections on Thursday, January 15, as President Yoweri Museveni has declared January 15 and 16 public holidays nationwide.
Voting stations will open for business on Thursday at 7:00 local time and close at 16:00. Election participation is anticipated to reach 21.6 million registered voters.
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, President Museveni, 81, has been actively campaigning throughout the nation as the party steps up mobilization in front of the election. NRM leaders have expanded their campaigning into areas that lean toward the opposition, including rallies in Kampala’s Entebbe and Rubaga neighborhoods in an effort to garner support for Museveni’s reelection. Museveni has been in power since 1986 and is hoping to win seven consecutive elections.
Citing decades of peace and progress under NRM rule, the incumbent has centered his campaign on stability and continuity. Infrastructure development, economic expansion, and security maintenance have been priorities for Museveni and his party.
Museveni was ahead in recent polls, according to the English-language daily New Vision in Uganda. Women and voters in rural areas showed especially strong support for Museveni.
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, the 43-year-old flag bearer for the National Unity Platform (NUP), is his primary opponent. He has been traveling to different areas to organize voters. In an attempt to get support from the general public, he has visited neighboring districts in the Busoga sub-region of eastern Uganda, Namutumba and Bugweri.
After finishing second in the 2021 election, the pop star-turned-politician has pledged extensive reforms and a revolution in administration. In the run-up to the election, he made promises and priorities known to voters.
Bobi Wine has emphasized discipline and non-violence among his supporters and called for peaceful participation in the election process. Calling for new leadership and a renewed hope for change, he has set an ambitious outreach goal of reaching 20 million voters during the campaign.
Museveni and Bobi Wine are the two front-runners out of eight presidential candidates, and this will be their second meeting at the polls. Bobi Wine received 35% of the vote, while Museveni received 58% five years earlier.
Other contenders for president include Robert Kasibante of the National Peasants Party (NPP), Joseph Elton Mabirizi of the Conservative Party (CP), Nandala Mafabi of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Mugisha Muntu, a former army commander and leader of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Mubarak Munyagwa of the Common Man’s Party (CMP), and Frank Bulira of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP).
Col (Rtd) Kizza Besigye, a veteran opposition figure who has run four times against Museveni, is unable to take part in the election and is still detained on treason charges after being arrested in Kenya in late 2024.
The wife of the senior opposition leader, Eng. Winnie Byanyima, revealed on Sunday that Besigye had contributed money to Bobi Wine’s presidential campaign.
