The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) will tomorrow, Thursday, July 24, 2025, conduct a fresh round of primary elections across all villages in Uganda to select party flag bearers for district chairpersons, city and municipal mayors, district councillors, and city councillors ahead of the 2026 general elections.
This next phase of the internal elections comes just days after the party’s parliamentary primaries on July 17, which were marred by chaos, violence, and widespread allegations of malpractice — casting a long shadow over the upcoming vote.
NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong has moved swiftly to assure party members and the public that Thursday’s exercise will be more orderly and transparent. Speaking to the press, Todwong outlined a set of strict guidelines intended to restore public confidence and minimize the kind of irregularities seen last week.
Key Voting Procedures
According to Todwong, all eligible party members must report to their designated village polling venues by 10:00 a.m., where attendance will be confirmed against the official NRM village register through a name-calling roll-call system.
Voting will then commence at 12:00 noon and conclude by 2:00 p.m., using the NRM’s traditional “lining up” voting method, where voters physically queue behind a candidate’s poster or agent to cast their vote.
Only registered NRM members will be allowed to participate. Proxy voting is strictly prohibited, a safeguard aimed at preventing ballot manipulation and impersonation.
Once voting concludes, presiding officers must immediately announce the results publicly at each polling station and issue official Declaration of Results (DR) forms, signed by all agents present. Each candidate’s agent will also receive a copy of the signed results. Final tallies will then be compiled and officially declared at the district level.
Lessons from the Chaos of July 17
The strict guidelines follow a turbulent experience in last week’s parliamentary primaries, during which security forces reported hundreds of arrests linked to electoral violence and fraud.
While major urban centres such as Kampala, Wakiso, Mbale, Mbarara, and Soroti saw relatively peaceful voting, other regions experienced intimidation, physical assaults, voter bribery, and ballot tampering, according to reports from both the media and the Uganda Police Force.
Despite a heavy security deployment nationwide, authorities struggled to contain the widespread unrest, drawing criticism from both within and outside the party.
With local government positions now on the line, party officials are under increased pressure to deliver a cleaner, more credible election.
The outcome of tomorrow’s primaries will not only shape the NRM’s local government ticket but also serve as a litmus test for the party’s ability to conduct internal democracy amidst growing internal fractures and public scrutiny.
Observers note that how the party handles these elections could affect its broader image going into the 2026 national polls, especially in swing districts where internal legitimacy will be key to mobilizing grassroots support.
The NRM leadership has promised disciplinary action for those found culpable in disrupting the July 17 vote, and many now wait to see whether that commitment will be matched by decisive action.
For the NRM, tomorrow is not just about selecting candidates — it’s about restoring confidence, enforcing order, and proving that it can still manage internal contestation without implosion.
