By Spy Uganda
The National Unity Platform (NUP) has secured at least 50 parliamentary seats in Uganda’s newly constituted Twelfth Parliament, marking a modest decline from its previous strength but underscoring the party’s continued relevance, particularly in urban and peri-urban constituencies.
Results seen by The Daily Star indicate that NUP’s tally represents a net loss of seven seats from the 57 it held in the outgoing Parliament. The outcome reflects the challenges the opposition party faced in defending some of its traditional strongholds amid a highly competitive electoral environment.
Despite the numerical drop, NUP leaders have pointed to expanded national participation as a key milestone in the just-concluded elections. The five-year-old party fielded more than 300 candidates nationwide, a significant increase that signals growing organisational reach, internal restructuring and ambition to entrench itself beyond its original bases.
The party’s elected legislators are drawn from a broad geographical spread, with particularly strong representation in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, parts of Buganda, Busoga, Eastern Uganda, and several district woman representative slots. Urban constituencies once again proved central to NUP’s parliamentary footprint.
In Greater Kampala and Wakiso, NUP retained key seats, including Nakawa West, Kawempe North, Makindye East and West, Rubaga North and South, Kyadondo East, Nansana, and Kira Municipality, alongside the Kampala District Woman Representative position.
The party also posted solid results in Luweero, Mukono, Buikwe, Kayunga, Masaka, Kalungu, Kyotera, Jinja, Iganga, Bugiri, Mityana, Mubende, Kassanda, Gomba, and Nakasongola, illustrating a continued, if uneven, national footprint.
Several high-profile NUP lawmakers failed to return to Parliament, contributing to the reduced overall numbers. Nevertheless, political analysts say retaining at least 50 seats keeps the party among the most significant opposition forces in the House, even as the overall opposition presence declined from 106 MPs in the 11th Parliament to 78 MPs in the 12th, meaning 28 opposition legislators lost their seats.
Within NUP circles, the results are being framed less as a setback and more as a phase of consolidation, with emphasis on building durable party structures, nurturing new leaders and expanding reach beyond traditional urban strongholds.
As the Twelfth Parliament takes shape, NUP is expected to continue leveraging its urban dominance, vocal legislators and district woman representatives to influence debate and oversight. Party officials say the focus now shifts to strengthening parliamentary coordination, reconnecting with constituencies where ground was lost, and preparing for the next electoral cycle.
While the party emerged with fewer seats than before, its ability to field candidates nationwide and retain a sizeable parliamentary caucus highlights NUP’s evolving role in Uganda’s opposition politics, even in a more challenging political landscape.
