Bobi Wine accuses Museveni's administration of sabotaging NUP candidates
The polls, set for June 19 and to be held at the village level, will elect representatives of the youth, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
Uganda’s opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has accused President Yoweri Museveni’s government of blocking youth from the National Unity Platform from participating in the upcoming special interest group elections.
The polls, set for June 19 and to be held at the village level, will elect representatives of the youth, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
Speaking on Tuesday, Kyagulanyi said NUP youth candidates were blocked in 80 per cent of Uganda’s more than 140 districts.
He pointed fingers at government officials and electoral officers.
“Our youth were blocked by Electoral Commission officials, Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), District Internal Security Officers (DISOs), and GISOs,” he said.
He claimed that in many areas, NUP candidates were stopped from submitting nomination papers through threats and violence.
“In Kampala alone, they blocked most NUP candidates while facilitating National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates to nominate successfully. In some areas, goons were hired to beat our candidates and chase them from nomination venues,” he said.
Kyagulanyi later wrote on X that the government is unlikely to act on the complaints but said the party would continue raising its voice.
“We’ve formally complained—not because we expect positive results, but to be on record. That is why the 2026 election must be a protest vote,” he posted.
The Daily Monitor reported chaotic scenes outside the Electoral Commission offices in Kawempe Division, where large numbers of youth were turned away before they could hand in their nomination papers.
Some destroyed their documents in frustration.
“Our youths were turned down without reason. We’ve spent two days coming to the EC offices. What’s worse is that NRM candidates were helped with ease. We request the EC to do its job as prescribed in the law,” said a NUP Registrar.
The development comes days after security agencies reportedly cracked down on NUP youth gatherings in Jinja and Mityana.
The party says these incidents are part of a broader strategy to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2026 general election.
