Xavier Radio Ug News 24 7
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has admitted to dangerous mobilisation weaknesses just weeks to the January 15, 2026 general elections, blaming complacency and internal pride after decades of electoral dominance.
NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong made the explosive admission on Sunday, December 28, 2025, while addressing women leaders from Northern Uganda at a high-level regional meeting in Gulu.
“Our biggest problem is arrogance. We think votes are guaranteed, so we no longer go to the villages to look for them,” Todwong told the gathering.
The meeting pulled together women leaders from Lango, Acholi, Teso and West Nile sub-regions as the party scrambles to tighten its grip on power amid a stiff opposition challenge.
Todwong conceded that the party’s long rule has weakened grassroots structures, leaving village and parish mobilisation in disarray — a development he described as dangerous with polling day fast approaching.
Despite the cracks, Todwong claimed the NRM still enjoys numerical advantage, boasting that about 14 million of the 18.3 million names on the party register also appear on the Electoral Commission voters’ roll.
Official Electoral Commission figures show Uganda has 21.6 million registered voters, with women forming the majority — a voting bloc the NRM is now desperately courting.
With time running out, Todwong urged women leaders to take the lead in mobilising voters, warning that internal bickering and public attacks on party leaders could cost the NRM dearly.
“Stop washing our dirty linen on social media. Call your leaders privately. Public fights weaken us,” he warned.
Todwong also revealed plans to strengthen NRM special-interest leagues, including setting up national secretariats for women, youth and veterans, as part of last-minute campaign firefighting.
NRM Women’s League vice chairperson for Karamoja, Margarette Lomoyang, challenged women leaders to continue mobilising even without facilitation, promising that the party would eventually reward their sacrifice.
“Women decide elections. If we work hard, victory is assured,” Lomoyang said.
NRM Women’s League finance secretary Ann Ruyondo Lumumba dismissed claims that funds had already been released, insisting not a single shilling has reached the league.
She revealed that the Gulu meeting was funded from her own pocket, with help from her husband — the NRM Secretary General — and pledged full accountability once party funds are released.
Ruyondo also cautioned women leaders to maintain discipline, decent dressing and respectful public conduct to protect the party’s image as elections draw near.
Museveni faces strong pressure from National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi, who secured over 35 per cent of the vote in 2021 and is once again rallying the youth vote.
As January 15 approaches, the ruling party’s admission of weakness has exposed unease at the heart of Uganda’s longest-ruling political machine.
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