The National Unity Platform (NUP) has officially unveiled the party’s flag bearers for all Kampala divisions for the post of councilor and division mayors ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Speaking to supporters and candidates at the party headquarters in Makerere Kavule on September 11, 2025, NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu urged the candidates to run healthy campaigns anchored on unity, discipline, and respect for opponents ahead of the 2026 general elections.
“We believe in all our flag bearers, and this is going to be an unusual election with protest votes. We are going to win. As candidates, please don’t engage in hate politics with our competitors, and respect them because some were there before us,” Kyagulanyi stated.
He reminded candidates that teamwork was the only way to secure victory.
“As councillors and party holders, please work together and support each other—you will win together. Mayors, support all the councillors even when some were not supporting you. Avoid divisionism, because our working together is our beauty and our strength,” Kyagulanyi added.
The meeting was to unveil recently announced flag bearers for local government leaders which include councilors and mayors councilors from the Kampala divisions like Makindye, Kawempe, Rubaga, Nakawa and Kampala Central .
The unveiling introduced the party’s official flag bearers for Kampala’s five divisions, as well as the Lord Mayor’s seat. Among them were:Ronald Balimwezo, Kampala Lord Mayor, Buken Ali (Nubian Li), Nakawa Division Mayor, Emmanuel Sserunjogi, Kawempe Division Mayor, John Bosco Lusagala, Makindye Division Mayor among others.
Alongside the unveiling, the NUP Election Management Committee announced that it will begin vetting parliamentary flag bearers starting Monday, September 15, 2025.
The vetting will use a two-tier system, with candidates scored 40 per cent on their performance before vetting committees and 60 per cent from grassroots consultations. Committee chairperson Harriet Chemutai said the process, which runs until September 21, aims to avoid the disputes and allegations of corruption that marred previous local government vetting.
According to the schedule, Wakiso, West Nile, and Kigezi will be vetted first, followed by Kampala, Acholi, and Ankole on September 16. The process will then move through other regions before concluding with Bugisu, Greater Luwero, and Busoga on September 20–21.
The vetting process comes at a decisive moment for NUP. In the 2021 general elections, the party won 61 parliamentary seats, most of them in Kampala and the Buganda region, cementing its status as Uganda’s largest opposition party. However, it struggled to gain ground in northern, eastern, and western Uganda.
Kyagulanyi hopes to avoid internal wrangles and present stronger candidates nationwide as a strategy ahead of the 2026 polls.
