A total of 177 Ugandans have so far picked nomination forms to contest the 2026 presidential election, marking the start of a competitive race to unseat President Yoweri Museveni.

The Electoral Commission (EC) began issuing the forms last week, and the exercise is set to run until September 24.

Aspirants must collect signatures from at least 100 registered voters in two-thirds of Uganda’s 98 districts and submit them by September 10, two weeks before the official nomination dates on September 23–24.

EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi emphasised that any registered Ugandan voter with the intention of leading the country is free to pick the nomination forms.

“Any registered Ugandan voter who has an intention of leading the country is free to pick the nomination forms in the ongoing exercise that shall end on September 24,” he said.

Aspirants may also send representatives to collect the forms on their behalf. For political parties, the representative must be the party secretary general or someone authorised in writing by the secretary general.

Each aspirant or their agent receives a copy of the nomination form, supporter forms for collecting the required signatures, and the guidelines for nomination and related activities.

The forms must be returned to the Commission along with the Ush20 million nomination fee.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) Party President Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has already picked his nomination forms for the 2026 race.

He was represented by NUP leaders including Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi, Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, and national treasurer Benjamin Katana at the EC headquarters on Monday.

Ssenyonyi said NUP will campaign under the slogan “New Uganda Now,” aiming for a massive protest vote to end nearly 40 years of President Museveni’s rule.

“The New Uganda we talk about is a country where we shall see all people go to public hospitals and receive deserving treatment, our roads are in good shape, where our children go to these Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools and attain quality education,” he said.

He added: “We are agitating for a Uganda where young people who have been through schools have opportunities available to them, where all Ugandans are equal before and under the law, where there are no human rights violations, where the leaders are accountable to the people they serve.”

Rubongoya said the party has entrusted Kyagulanyi with leading them through the next elections.

“As we kick off this process of ending the suffering Ugandans have endured for almost four decades, we pray that the security operatives respect the will of the people and refrain from disrupting us, and we also request the Electoral Commission to be in charge of the elections,” he said.

Kyagulanyi will be standing against the incumbent for the second time. In the 2021 elections, he came second with 3.6 million votes, trailing President Museveni.

The start of the nomination process signals a high-stakes campaign season as multiple aspirants prepare to contest the presidency, with party and independent candidates alike entering the race.