Uganda’s ruling party has confirmed that President Yoweri Museveni will run for re-election in the country’s upcoming general elections next year.
The 80-year-old president has led Uganda since 1986 and has long been expected to seek another term, despite growing criticism of his extended time in power.
In a statement posted on its website Tuesday, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) announced that Museveni intends to “seeks to retain the positions of the NRM chairman and party presidential flag bearer in the 2026 elections”.
Tanga Odoi, who chairs the NRM’s electoral commission, told AFP that Museveni will declare his “interest for the president as the party flag bearer in the forthcoming general elections”.
Yoweri Museveni, a former rebel fighter, was once praised for bringing stability and development to Uganda.
But over the years, he’s been accused of tightening his grip on power by silencing opponents and changing the constitution to remove term and age limits, allowing him to stay in office indefinitely.
As the 2026 election draws near, the political climate in Uganda has grown tense with Human rights groups raising alarms about the shrinking space for dissent.
Opposition figures and critics have reported increasing harassment, arrests, and intimidation.
One of Museveni’s main challengers, singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine , whose real name Robert Kyagulanyi, has announced his plan to run again after losing to Museveni in the disputed 2021 election, which was marred by reports of violence and vote rigging.
Wine has been detained multiple times and regularly faces threats, including from Museveni’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has publicly made violent threats against him online.
Another veteran opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, was allegedly abducted from Kenya last year and brought back to Uganda, where he now faces treason charges, an offense that carries the death penalty.
His arrest has drawn condemnation from international groups and his wife, Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAIDS, who insists the charges are politically motivated.
