By Frank Kamuntu
The National Unity Platform (NUP) has released the final list of its flagbearers for the 2026 local council elections in Western Uganda. The announcement marks a significant step in the party’s efforts to expand its influence beyond its Buganda stronghold.
NUP has in recent years been criticized as a “Buganda-only party,” with all of its Members of Parliament, except John Baptist Nambeshe from Eastern Uganda, hailing from the central region where party president Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, originates. By unveiling candidates in Western Uganda—traditionally a National Resistance Movement (NRM) bastion—the opposition party hopes to broaden its national footprint.
“The release of these lists shows our commitment to building a truly national party that represents all Ugandans, not just Buganda,” an NUP statement noted. The party emphasized that where more than one aspirant competed for the same local government position, the selection process determined the official flagbearers.
Despite this milestone, some positions in Western Uganda attracted only one candidate, while others had no NUP hopefuls at all—reflecting the challenges the party faces in mobilizing structures in regions long dominated by President Yoweri Museveni’s ruling NRM.
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