Lubaga South MP Aloysius Mukasa is carried shoulder-high by supporters at the National Unity Platform (NUP) party headquarters in Makerere-Kavule on Monday. He was submitting his credentials to the party’s Election Management Committee after expressing interest in contesting again for the same seat in 2026. PHOTO / MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
As the political temperature hots up ahead of the 2026 polls, aspirants across the political divide are jostling for party flags and parting with millions of shillings to secure endorsements. The parties say the fees are one of the sources of financing their activities, including meeting administrative costs, nomination and general campaign expenses, and also sieving out the also-runs.
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party levies the highest fees, followed by Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), and the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party – an offshoot of FDC. The NRM has hiked its charges for presidential aspirants from Shs10m to Shs20m, and for MPs from Shs2 million to Shs3m, raking in an enormous Shs6.9b across the nominations.
Dr Tanga Odoi, the party Election Commission Chairperson, said the war chest would bankroll the party primaries set for later next month, as well facilitate candidates’ campaigns and offset nomination costs for the national elections.
The Uganda People’s Congress charges Shs20m for those seeking the party presidential flag, while FDC levies Shs5m, PFF Shs2.5m, with both the Alliance for National Platform (ANT) and JEEMA each charging Shs1m. Nomination fees for the MP flag range between Shs100,000 and Shs3m across the parties.
Mr Emmanuel Ddombo, the director for Information and Publicity at the NRM party, says the fees set by their secretariat reflect the values the party offers. He said their party members willingly meet the fees.
“They consider the contribution of the previous year, and the economic circumstances now, and the desire for people to make a contribution towards running the party. When l looks at the national budget, Uganda is becoming a middle-income state. You charge money which reflects the status of the economy. You saw how they were flocking to pay. You would think somebody was paying for them, but no, they were paying,” he said.
The FDC party electoral commission secretary, Mr Augustine Ojobile, said while the aspirants are charged to secure the party flag, the party fully covers the national nomination fees for key positions such as District Chairpersons, Members of Parliament, the Lord Mayor, and the Party President.
Mr Ojobile said flag bearers for other elective positions only get a refund upon being nominated by the national Electoral Commission.
“Due to the large number of candidates in these other positions, we ask them to pay the fees and later submit their payment receipts and nomination forms for proof of nomination and a refund is made,” Ojobile said.
“This helps us prevent cases where individuals are given money but fail to appear for nomination. Some individuals lie to be contesting and never go for nomination once they are given the money,” he said.
Mr Faisal Muzeyi, the UPC party spokesperson, said they were yet to resolve whether the party should pay for the nomination of their candidates. He said the high rates set for the party’s presidential aspirants was a measure of their seriousness for vying for the country’s topmost seat.
“It is not for making money, but to show value and strength for what you are getting into, the party is looking for outstanding candidates” he added.
Mr Jimmy Akena, and Mr Dennis Adim Enap, have been nominated for the UPC party president slot, whose winner automatically becomes the party flag bearer in the General Election planned for between January and February.
UPC party presidential aspirant Dennis Adim Enap and incumbent party president Jimmy Akena (Right). PHOTO/COMBO
At the Democratic Party, aspirants vying to carry the party flap for parliamentary seats pay Shs200,000, while those running for LC5 chairpersons part with Shs200,000. District Councilors will pay Shs150,000 and local councillors part with Shs100,000.
Mr Okoler Opio, the DP spokesperson, said all the monies collected from members would be used to pay for EC nominations.
“We also print for them 5,000 posters each and also fund their campaigns, depending on their areas, with each of the candidates getting between Shs10m and Shs50m because some districts are big and hard to reach, meaning our candidates have to stretch a bit to make sure they reach out to every voter,” he said.
The DP constitution states that the party president automatically becomes the national presidential candidate.
This means Mr Nobert Mao, who was declared party president early this month following a contested Delegates Conference, will carry the DP presidential flag in the 2026 poll.
Meanwhile, at the Alliance for National Unity (ANT) party, the highest fee charged for expression of interest is Shs1m for the presidential aspirants. The rest from Members of Parliament to councillors will pay between Shs100,000 and Shs3000.
Ms Alice Alaso, the party national coordinator, said the charge is to facilitate the basics of the nomination processes. The party, birthed in 2018, and headed by former army Commander, Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu, will be participating in its second election, having fielded a handful of candidates in 2021.
Ms Alaso said the party is currently receiving expression of interest forms.
“We just came up with our forms, the guidelines, and we’ve sent them out, and people are filling and returning online, except for candidates for Parliament and LC5, who are first returning online, but will, beginning July, have to come personally so we can verify their credentials, because we want them to bring the originals of their documents,” she said.
She said ANT will also not hold party primaries, opting for a harmonisation approach for positions with many contenders.
“In 2020, we adopted harmonization. Nobody’s going to expect party primaries from us, but they should expect us to sit with them on site and harmonize positions and then arrive at a consensus. For the presidential flag bearer, there will be a bigger group to go through the harmonization process,” Ms Alaso said.
What candidates are paying to win party flags
PARTY | PRESIDENTIAL FLAG BEARER | MP | DISTRICT/CITY CHAIRPERSON | LORD MAYOR | MUNICIPAL/CITY/DIVISION MAYOR | COUNCILORS | LC1 |
NRM | 20,000,000 | 3,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,500,000 | 750,000–1,000,000 | 20,000–1,000,000 | 10,000 |
NUP | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE | |
FDC | 5,000,000 | 100,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 20,000 | FREE | |
PFF | 2,500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 250,000 | 10,000 | |
DP | 200,000 | 200,000 | |||||
ANT | 1,000,000 | 100,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 10,000–20,000 | ||
UPC | 20,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 300,000 | 100,000–10,000 | 5,000 |
JEEMA | 1,000,000 | 100,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 10,000–50,000 |
