Three opposition parties are contemplating fronting a joint candidate in the forthcoming general elections in 2026.
According to the plan, once approved, the opposition will front a joint candidate for presidency, parliamentary , and district respectively.
The parties include the National Unity Platform Party, the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), and the Peoples Front for Freedom (PFF), a breakaway of the Forum for Democratic Change party.
The move targets defeating the National Resistance Movement party presidential candidate in 2026.
On Monday, 10th March 2025, while campaigning in Kanyanya, a suburb in the Kampala City for Erias Nalukoola, the NUP candidate in the Kawempe North Parliamentary by-election, Erias Lukwago, the PFF interim chairperson, said the plan will boost the opposition’s strength to win the 2026 presidential election.
“NUP has supported us in different by-elections; we are here to support Nalukoola as a united opposition. We hope to remain a united opposition in the 2026 elections,” Lukwago said.
Winnie Kiiza, a member of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party and former Leader of Opposition, backed the plan, saying unity is key among the opposition.
Kiiza is optimistic that Nalukoola, the joint opposition’s candidate, will emerge victorious in the Kawempe North by-election.
Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa, the former FDC party chairman and now a member of PFF, appealed to youths not to deviate from the struggle due to brutality meted against them by the state actors.
“I have come to tell us to unite; when we unite, these people will go,” Birigwa said.
Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of Opposition-LOP in Parliament and also the NUP party spokesperson, welcomed the plan, adding it will surely deliver victory and achievements for many candidates.
“As the opposition parties, we have come together, and after Kawempe North by-elections, we shall show you that it’s possible for a united front for the 2026 presidential elections,” Ssenyonyi said.
Currently, the Democratic Party, Uganda People’s Congress Party, Forum for Democratic Change Party, among others, have remained parallel to the plan.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to campaign for Faridah Nambi Kigongo, the NRM candidate.
Kawempe North constituency has 9 parishes with 197 polling stations, and it is densely populated, with most of the residents living in the slums. The polling date for Kawempe North by-elections is scheduled for 13th March 2025.
The Kawempe North seat became vacant after the death of Muhammad Ssegirinya in January, and a total of 10 candidates were nominated by the Electoral Commission.
The candidates include Murerwa Hanifa Karadi (independent), Luwemba Lusswa Muhammed (independent), Luyimbazi Elias Nalukoola (National Unity Platform), Mukiibi Sadat (Forum for Democratic Change), Nsereko Moses (independent), Musiitwa Ismail (People’s Progressive Party), Mutazindwa Muhamood (independent), Kasacca Henry Mubiru (Democratic Party), and Faridah Nambi Kigongo, the NRM candidate.
