The Secretary General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Richard Todwong, has conceded that the party’s prolonged dominance at the polls has bred complacency and pride among some of its officials, weakening grassroots mobilisation structures across the country.
Todwong made the admission on Sunday while addressing members of the NRM Women’s League from Northern Uganda at a regional meeting held in Gulu.
The meeting brought together five representatives from each district, chairpersons, vice chairpersons, secretaries, treasurers, and finance officers, drawn from the Lango, Acholi, Teso, and West Nile sub-regions, as the party intensifies preparations for the January 15, 2026, presidential and parliamentary elections.
“Our biggest challenge as a party has always been that we know we have numbers, we know we have been winning elections, and that has made us proud to the extent that we don’t go out to look for votes,” Todwong said.
He explained that the NRM’s long history of electoral success had created a false sense of security among party cadres, leading to weak mobilisation at village and parish levels, the very foundation of electoral organisation.
With only weeks remaining to polling day, Todwong said the party had recalibrated its campaign strategy and urged women leaders to play a central role in mobilising voters to deliver what he described as a decisive victory.
He further claimed that of the 18.3 million eligible voters registered in the NRM party register nationwide, about 14 million are also captured in the Electoral Commission national voters’ register.
According to the Electoral Commission, Uganda has a total of 21,681,491 registered voters for the 2026 general elections, comprising 10,334,362 men and 11,347,129 women.
Beyond mobilisation, Todwong called for unity and discipline within party structures, cautioning leaders against public criticism and internal intrigue. He advised that disagreements and leadership shortcomings should be addressed privately rather than aired on social media.
“Don’t criticise your leaders in public. Call them and talk to them privately. Public infighting weakens party cohesion and undermines effective mobilisation,” he said. Todwong also revealed plans to strengthen NRM’s special-interest leagues by enhancing their institutional capacity. These include proposals to establish dedicated national secretariats for the Women’s League, Youth League, and Veterans’ League.
Meanwhile, Margarette Lomoyang, the Vice Chairperson of the NRM Women’s League for the Karamoja Sub-region, challenged women leaders to remain committed to mobilisation efforts despite financial constraints. She said the party would eventually reward their sacrifices, noting that women leaders remain influential actors in shaping voter behaviour ahead of the January polls.
She emphasised that if women leaders fully embrace the party’s mobilisation calls, they could significantly influence electoral outcomes.
On her part, Ann Ruyondo Lumumba, the Secretary of Finance of the NRM Women’s League, urged leaders to prioritise teamwork, arguing that without collective effort, mobilisation becomes ineffective. Ruyondo also cautioned women leaders to conduct themselves in ways that reflect patriotism and respectability, citing appropriate dressing and public behaviour as critical to maintaining the party’s image.
Ruyondo dismissed claims that funds had already been released to the Women’s League, clarifying that no official financing had yet been disbursed despite the existence of a draft budget. She revealed that the Gulu meeting had been personally funded by her, with support from her husband, the party’s secretary general.
Ruyondo pledged transparency once official funding is released, assuring league members that all resources would be properly accounted for and communicated through established structures.
The NRM Women’s League is one of the party’s key special-interest leagues, established to promote women’s participation in politics, leadership, and governance within the ruling party’s structures.
With the presidential elections now only weeks away, the NRM is increasingly relying on these leagues to consolidate support and extend the party’s nearly four-decade rule under its Chairperson, President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since January 26, 1986.
President Museveni faces a competitive race from two-time presidential contender, musician-turned-politician and leader of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi.
Kyagulanyi emerged second in the 2021 general elections, securing 35.08 per cent of the vote against Museveni’s 58.38 per cent, setting the stage for another closely watched contest in 2026.
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