The National Unity Platform (NUP) has started fresh accusations against the Electoral Commission (EC) alleging electoral malpractices, including the illegal disqualification of its parliamentary flag bearers and serious irregularities in the National Voters Register.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, December 29th, 2025, at the Party headquarters in Kavule, NUP Secretary-General David Lewis Rubongoya said at least seven party aspirants had been “illegally” disqualified from parliamentary races.
“The affected candidates were those challenging influential contenders from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM),” he said.
Rubongoya revealed that five of the disqualified aspirants had given detailed testimonies.
According to the party, these efforts were followed by disqualification on technical grounds after the candidates refused to comply.
One of the aspirants, Abedichan Mercy Rebecca, who is contesting for the Nebbi District Woman Member of Parliament seat, claimed that State Minister for Energy offered her money and a job in the oil sector in exchange for withdrawing from the race.
Similar claims were made by other NUP aspirants, including Ernest Ayen (Northern Youth MP), Sharif Ntanda (Isingiro North), and Christopher Ategeka (Buyanja County). They alleged that they were offered cash sums ranging between 40 million and 300 million Uganda shillings, alongside government job offers, to abandon their candidacy or publicly disown NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi.
Rubongoya also raised concerns about serious anomalies in the National Voters Register. He cited an internal party analysis that reportedly uncovered more than 1,500 cases of multiple voter entries in Kampala Central Division alone, where identical names, dates of birth, and personal details appeared at different polling stations.
He warned that the alleged duplication could undermine the integrity of the elections and contradict the purpose of the Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVKs), which were introduced to prevent multiple voting.
Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi criticized the Electoral Commission’s handling of nomination disputes, questioning its independence.
“EC was acting as the complainant, judge, and jury in cases involving candidate disqualifications. This situation undermines public confidence in the electoral process,” Ssenyonyi stated.
NUP called for an immediate audit and cleaning of the voters register, as well as nationwide sensitization on the use of the new voting technology.
The Electoral Commission is yet to respond to the allegations.
