The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has asked the government of Uganda to explain the role of security agencies in the coming 2026 general elections.
While speaking to the press at the party headquarters at Uganda House Kampala, UPC’s head of communications and media, Faisal Muzeyi, tasked the Electoral Commission and government to categorically be clear on what role the security agencies will play.
“UPC has been at the forefront of calling for demilitarization of the electoral processes and demands for a clearly defined role of any security agencies in the elections,” Muzeyi noted.
Muzeyi was responding to a comment made by the Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, Lt. Gen. Samuel Okiding, recently when addressing retired senior army officers at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs Headquarters in Mbuya on September 9, 2024, where he revealed that retired army officers will be recalled for a new task of security for the 2026 elections.
Muzeyi also asked that the army be kept away from the coming national elections of 2026 and called upon other key stakeholders to join the cause in advocating for free and fair elections prior to 2026.
“UPC would like to remind all stakeholders that election issues are of great importance to the country and ought to be addressed with a lot of care, focus, and commitment. It is through elections that we elect leadership at both the local and national level. Therefore, our electoral process needs to be free and fair if we are to move society to higher heights,” Muzeyi said.
Muzeyi further added that as UPC, they want to reiterate their position that they shall continue to use the available platforms in a bid to improve on the democratic space as they build the country that can accommodate all Ugandans.
UPC’s comments on free and fair elections were sparked by the remarks made by President Museveni recently, where he said that in the 2021 presidential race, the National Unity Party (NUP) stole 1 million votes.
Currently, the legislation permits anyone with a complaint about election results to petition within 30 days, which many actors argue is insufficient time to compile serious evidence to protest election results.
