Agency
The Electoral Commission (EC) has officially cleared National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, for presidential nomination, following a tense verification of supporter signatures that tested the party’s organisational muscle and political resolve.
In a formal communication to NUP, the EC confirmed that Kyagulanyi will be nominated on Wednesday at the Commission’s headquarters in Lweza.
The greenlight comes just days after an earlier warning from EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama, who on September 19 flagged glaring gaps in the party’s initial submission of signatures.
Byabakama’s letter noted that out of 130 districts where NUP sought endorsements, only 80 met the statutory threshold of at least 100 verified signatures per district.
But the opposition party quickly rallied. By Sunday, September 21, NUP had filed additional signatures, prompting a fresh round of meticulous cross-checks.
With the clearance, Kyagulanyi becomes the fourth presidential hopeful officially approved for nomination.
Others on the list include incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate Nathan Nandala Mafabi, and the National Peasants Party’s standard-bearer. The nomination window for presidential contenders opens Tuesday, September 23, and closes the following day.
