Authored By Kazibwe Jamil
KAMPALA, UGANDA: 21 July 2025 – President Yoweri Museveni, also the National Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), has taken a firm stance against alleged electoral malpractices within the party. In a series of swift directives, the President has ordered the arrest and prosecution of errant NRM election officials accused of manipulating results in favor of specific candidates during the recently concluded primaries.
This decisive action underscores President Museveni’s commitment to mitigating the damage caused by the acrimonious and chaotic primary elections, which have threatened to undermine party cohesion. Critics argue that the NRM’s electoral apparatus was woefully unprepared for the monumental task of managing elections across 72,000 villages nationwide.
Despite having ample preparation time and reportedly adequate funding, the NRM Electoral Commission (EC) is facing a torrent of accusations regarding acts of omission and commission that led to the widely reported debacles in various parts of the country. The key areas of concern highlighted by observers include;
* Flawed Recruitment and Inadequate Training of Election Staff: A critical evaluation reveals that the selection of commission staff was largely haphazard, with insufficient attention paid to their competence, patriotism, and impartiality. Many appointed officials reportedly held allegiances to warring NRM factions within their respective districts, predetermining a bias in their execution of duties. Compounding this, a significant number of staff received inadequate training in election management, despite resources being allocated for this purpose.
* Failure to Mitigate Collusion: Despite widespread political intelligence and clear red flags, the NRM EC failed to implement a crucial measure: swapping election staff to new stations. This oversight exacerbated the potential for collusion and compromise, allowing biased officials to manipulate results without significant checks.
* Centralization of Authority and Erosion of Teamwork: A recurring observation within the NRM fraternity is the perception that the electoral exercise became a “one-man show.” Many party members struggle to name the various NRM EC commissioners, pointing to a management style where the chairperson seemingly overshadowed the contributions of other members. This alleged erosion of teamwork deprived the commission of the vital synergy needed to manage such a massive undertaking effectively.
As more reports of irregularities continue to emerge from across the country, a notion is rapidly gaining currency: that the rot, in fact, began at the very top of the NRM Electoral Commission.
Kazibwe Jamil is a Senior Cadre of the ruling National Resistance Movement -NRM.
