The National Unity Platform (NUP) has issued a stern warning to the Electoral Commission (EC), threatening to take legal action over what it describes as the deliberate exclusion of its youth members from village youth committee elections set to begin on Thursday, June 20, 2025.
According to NUP leaders, their supporters across various districts have been blocked from nomination by EC officials, who allegedly insisted that the exercise was only for members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
The opposition party says it has written to the commission several times, but its complaints have been met with silence.
"We have written to the Electoral Commission several times demanding justice, but they have not responded," said Lewis Rubongoya, the party's Secretary General.
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"Our members were turned away simply for being affiliated with NUP. This is not an election for NRM members only."
Rubongoya said the party is considering court action to ensure their members' constitutional rights are respected.
"If the Electoral Commission continues to ignore us, we shall petition the courts of law. We are not going to sit back as our democratic rights are trampled on," he added.
The EC has not officially responded to the allegations, a silence that NUP says is emblematic of the increasing erosion of electoral transparency in Uganda.
NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, also weighed in, saying the party would not stand by while what he described as "electoral impunity" goes unchecked.
Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi added that the party's legal team is preparing multiple court actions, including one challenging the recently enacted UPDF Amendment Act.
"We are not just concerned about village elections. We are going to court over the UPDF law as well. It affects governance at every level," Ssenyonyi said.
Meanwhile, NUP's ranks grew stronger in Kampala after Olive Namazzi, a former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leader affiliated with the People's Front for Freedom (PFF), officially crossed over to the party.
"I still believe in revolutionary politics, but I cannot leave NUP for PFF or go back to FDC," Namazzi said at the event. "I am ready to mobilize for NUP and deliver Nakawa."
Namazzi's defection is being viewed as a boost for NUP, which has steadily built influence in Kampala despite what it describes as state-sponsored political repression.
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With youth committee elections just days away, tensions remain high. Opposition parties continue to demand equal access and fairness in the nomination and voting process, warning that any further manipulation will be met with resistance both in courts and on the streets.
