80-year-old Uganda’s Museveni to Run for Re-Election in 2026, Ruling Party Confirms

Uganda’s long-serving president, Yoweri Museveni, will seek re-election in the 2026 general elections, his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party confirmed on Tuesday, ending speculation over the 80-year-old leader’s political future.

In a statement published on its official website, the NRM declared that Museveni “seeks to retain the positions of the NRM chairman and party presidential flag bearer in the 2026 elections.” Tanga Odoi, chairperson of the NRM electoral commission, also confirmed to AFP that the veteran president “would declare an interest for the president as the party flag bearer in the forthcoming general elections.”

Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, was widely expected to seek another term after removing constitutional age and term limits in previous years. Once praised for his early leadership, the former rebel commander has come under increasing criticism for stifling dissent and eroding democratic freedoms.

The announcement comes amid a tightening political climate in Uganda, where opposition figures have faced sustained repression. Human rights groups and international observers have raised concerns over the escalating crackdown ahead of the elections scheduled for January.

Among those challenging Museveni is popular musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, who has also declared his intention to contest in 2026. Wine previously ran against Museveni in 2021 in elections marred by widespread reports of voter fraud and brutal crackdowns by security forces.

Wine has been arrested multiple times, and threats against him have intensified, notably from Museveni’s son and military commander, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has posted disturbing messages on social media, including threats to “behead” the opposition leader.

Another major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, a longtime political rival of Museveni, was abducted in Kenya last year and forcibly returned to Uganda, where he now faces the death penalty for treason—charges denounced by global rights groups.

His wife, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, condemned the charges, stating, “He is being criminalised because he has challenged, he has put himself forward as a candidate in elections.”

As Uganda gears up for another election cycle, critics warn that the environment for free and fair elections continues to deteriorate, with Museveni’s entrenched rule and the government’s heavy-handed tactics drawing renewed global scrutiny.

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