The president of Uganda is elected using the two-round system, with candidates needing to receive at least 50% + 1 of the vote to be elected in the first round. Chapter 142 of the Presidential Elections Act of 2000 stipulates that presidential candidates must be a citizen of Uganda by birth and be qualified to be an MP.[4] Candidates are also required to be of sound mind and have no formal connection with the Electoral Commission of Uganda. Term limits were abolished in 2005.[5] The elections are supervised by the Electoral Commission of Uganda.[6]
The Parliament of Uganda has a total of 529 seats, including 353 representatives elected using first-past-the-post voting in single winner constituencies. Using the same method, 146 seats reserved for women are filled, with one seat per district. Finally, 30 seats are indirectly filled via special electoral colleges: 10 by the army, 5 by youths, 5 by elders, 5 by unions, and 5 by people with disabilities. In each of these groups, at least one woman must be elected (at least two for the army group).[7][8][9]
Candidates
In June 2025, incumbent president Yoweri Museveni, who has been in office since 1986, announced his candidacy for another (seventh) presidential term.[10] He was formally declared the candidate of his party, the National Resistance Movement the following month[11] and was recognised by the election commission on 23 September 2025.[12]
On 18 August 2025, the National Unity Platform (NUP) and the Democratic Party (DP) applied to register candidates for the presidential election.[13] On 24 September, the electoral commission nominated Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu a.k.aBobi Wine to run for president.[14] Kyagulanyi also contested in the 2021 general election and came out second. He however denied the results of the election citing irregularities such as vote rigging and went on to file a presidential election petition in the Supreme Court but later withdrew it.[15][16]
Other candidates nominated by the Electoral commission to contest for Presidency include;
Hon. Munyagwa Mubarak Sserunga of Common Man's Party (CMP).[21] Munyagwa is a former Mayor for Kawempe division, former member of Parliament for Kawempe South Constituency in Uganda's capital Kampala and a former chairperson to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee on statutory authorities and state enterprises [COSASE] in the 10th Parliament of Uganda.[22][23]
Frank Bulira Kabinga of Revolutionary Peoples Party (RPP)[24]
Robert Kasibante of National Peasants Party (NPP)[25]
Elton Joseph Mabirizi of Conservative Party (CP).[30] Mabirizi is an engineer and pentecostal preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is running for the second time for presidency the first being in the 2016 general elections where he garnered 24,498 votes giving him 0.28%.[31][32]
Campaign
The months before the start of the campaign saw a number of government actions against the opposition National Unity Platform. In October 2025, ten NUP members were arrested in nothern Uganda, with at least another 95 members charged with minor offences in November 2025.[33] Government actions against the NUP have continued since the start of the campaign. On 6 December 2025, Bobi Wine and several supporters and staff were attacked and beaten by security forces while campaigning in Gulu.[34]
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