The Electoral Commission has confirmed that National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine, will be nominated for the 2026 presidential elections on Wednesday, September 24, at 2:00 p.m., a move the opposition party has slammed as a calculated attempt to protect President Museveni.
Bobi Wine, who had earlier booked Tuesday, September 23, at 10:00 a.m. for his nomination, accused the regime of cowardice and manipulation after the EC shifted his schedule.
“As predicted by many Ugandans, the ridiculous claims about us not submitting enough signatures was intended to push our date of nomination. The cowardly regime did not want us to be nominated on the same day as Museveni,” Bobi Wine charged.
Though the EC eventually issued him a Certificate of Verification confirming he had fully met the legal requirement of verified signatures across two-thirds of Uganda’s districts, it still postponed his nomination to a day later — and in the afternoon.
According to Bobi Wine, the timing was deliberately chosen to sabotage NUP’s campaign program.
“Pushing it to 2:00 p.m. is clearly intended to frustrate our plans to have two rallies because the first one was meant to begin at midday. But nothing will stop the revolutionary cause,” he vowed.
NUP Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya echoed the accusations, stressing that the EC’s maneuvers had little to do with signatures and everything to do with politics.
“It was never about the signatures. It was all about ensuring Bobi Wine does not nominate on the same day with Gen. Museveni. They don’t want us to hold our scheduled rallies. But Wednesday 2:00 p.m. it is — so help us God,” Rubongoya declared.
In anticipation of such tricks, the opposition party revealed that it had already booked Katwe Grounds and Kaala Playground in Nateete for both dates to ensure supporters gather in solidarity.
The development has once again raised questions about the independence of the Electoral Commission and heightened political tensions ahead of the 2026 elections, with NUP insisting that state institutions are being used to tilt the playing field in favor of President Museveni.
