In abid to have credible elections in 2026,the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has struck off nearly one million names from its register.
NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson Dr. Tanga Odoi said a total of 958,336 individuals were removed following last week’s village-level elections.
“These names belonged to people who are either deceased or have defected to other political parties. This update is a necessary step toward ensuring the credibility of our electoral processes,” Dr. Odoi explained.
The data cleanup comes on the heels of village baraza elections held in over 72,000 villages, forming the base of NRM’s nationwide grassroots structures. The party is now eyeing the next round of elections, with sub-county-level polls set for May 16, followed by city division elections on May 19, and district-level polls on May 23. Elections for special interest groups—including the youth, older persons, and persons with disabilities—will be held on May 24
The climax of the internal party election roadmap will be the election of national-level structures, scheduled for August 22–25.
Dr. Odoi acknowledged that challenges marred the village-level process, including missing names, unregistered candidates, and allegations of illegal voting in some areas. He confirmed that fresh elections will be conducted this Wednesday in affected villages.
“Despite the hitches, we are committed to building solid structures that will carry the NRM to victory in 2026,” Odoi emphasized.
Analysts say the register cleanup signals a more strategic and data-driven approach by the ruling party as it seeks to consolidate grassroots support and minimize internal disputes that have historically plagued NRM primaries.
With this electoral roadmap now underway, the NRM leadership hopes to present a unified, transparent, and well-organized party by the time the national election season begins in earnest.
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) is a Ugandan political party that rose from the remnants of the National Resistance Army (NRA), the rebel group that overthrew the Ugandan government in 1986. The NRM is currently led by President Yoweri Museveni and has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986
According to the National Resistance Movement, it restored political stability, security, law and order, constitutionalism and the rule of law to Uganda.