Norbert Mao, the President of the Democratic Party (DP) and Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, has run for the presidency three times since being elected party president.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Mao announced his intention to contest the presidency again in the 2026 general elections.
Mao contested in the 2011 general election, where he finished third out of eight candidates, with President Museveni securing the victory.
In 2016, he was endorsed as the presidential flag-bearer and was also proposed as a potential joint opposition candidate under the Democratic Alliance (TDA), though the coalition faced difficulties and eventually fractured. Despite this, he contested the election but did not win.
In the 2021 general election, Mao received 57,682 votes, securing fourth place.
Despite his previous setbacks, the DP party president, Mao, remains hopeful and determined to try again.
He criticized party members who oppose the cooperation agreement with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), accusing them of engaging in the “politics of untouchability”.
“In Uganda, there are political leaders who believe that one can’t talk to other political party members. That we call political untouchability,” he said.
According to Mao, the Democratic Party (DP) remains an independent entity. During the DP’s 12th National Council and National Executive Committee meeting in Soroti City, it was agreed that the Cooperation Agreement should be formally accepted and adopted as a working document of the party.
Mao explained that he was open to the agreement, as it came from President Museveni, and he drafted it after consulting with his party committee.
In July 2022, Mao was appointed the Justice Minister following a cooperation agreement between the DP and NRM.
