Today, the presidential election campaign trail is in its eighth week, and NRM presidential candidate, Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni remains the leading contender, selling message of peace, stability, achievements, perseverance and hope. Museveni is routing for the consolidation, protection, and expansion of transformational gains that Ugandans have individually and collectively made over the last four decades. Museveni’s message is consistently on health, education and wealth for all Ugandans.

And clearly, NRM now already with eleven MPs declared unopposed by the Independent Electoral Commission out of a house of 529 seats after the closure of nominations three weeks ago, is in an unassailable position to continue as the dominant party in the next parliament. Yours truly, this columnist, is among the bunch of the eleven elected unopposed, as MP for Older Persons Eastern Region covering forty districts in Busoga, Bukedi, Bugisu, Sebei, and Teso. Whatever else you may be hearing and seeing could only be background noise and sideshows to decorate this season’s democratic process

The reception, campaigns, political, and electoral standing in Teso, Karamoja, Bugisu, Sebei and Bukedi regions stomped this week, like Lango, Acholi and West Nile covered earlier, indicate without any exaggeration that Museveni and NRM will again sweep clean the polls come January 2026. Nevertheless, NRM campaigners must hold the rope-end tight, persuasively engage with Ugandans to ensure that the ground is firm and get the voters to the ballot boxes on polling day 15 January.

As for the opposition candidates, their collective manifesto seems to be anti-Museveni rhetoric, with Mugisha Muntu (ANT), Mubarak Munyagwa, Elton Joseph Mabirizi lost in the woods, and if it were not for barren brevity, they would have called off their respective campaigns, but are still holding out stiff necks. Nathan Nandala Mafabi (FDC) and Robert Kyagulanyi a.k.a. Bobi Wine (NUP), in the absence of police interference and their own orchestrated violence to enlist cheap media headline, are seen to be only hanging by a thread. Some, including the so-called democracy activists are murmuring and wondering aloud that the presidential campaigns have been dull. In fact many civic organizations that pass for election observers cannot justify their existence and are finding difficulties to attract funding. The US and European diplomatic missions in Uganda, too, could be filing nothing salacious about the ongoing elections because there are no arrests, teargas and street-battles against lawless opposition groups. Ugandan journalists and their media outlets also seem bored and cannot build a name because many have failed to understand the reasons for the political calmness this time round. Indeed, some could be gnashing for a storm after calm, but the security agencies should deny them that evil wish.

Others like Kyagulanyi, is mostly selling political fetish (talisman), giving his gullible audiences, especially the young people, that success comes easily, without hard, creative, innovative, consistent and disciplined purposeful endevours. But luckily, Kyagulanyi’s message is no longer a tiding wave. Ugandans having observed him since 2021, he and his group are falling on the proverbial barren soils. Some pundits consider the possibility of Kyagulanyi as replacement of Yoweri Museveni, however remotely, as an embarrassment to, and failure of the NRM.

And for some reason, Mugisha Muntu, a former army commander, well over twenty-seven years ago, and in spite of being touted by some people as one of the most disciplined, and doing his second bid for the presidency, has failed to gain credible electoral traction. It is not very clear what Muntu stands for in this election. At his rate, Munto will be lucky to be beaten to the fourth position behind his former tormentor, Nandala Mafabi when both were still in FDC. As Museveni winds up Bukedi, indications are bright that he will again carry the region in 2026 as has done previously.