The Deputy Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Rose Namayanja Nsereko, has acknowledged the ruling party's past electoral challenges in the Buganda region, while expressing confidence in improved party unity and strategic repositioning ahead of future political contests.
Speaking during NBS Morning Breeze on Tuesday, Namayanja said the NRM was fully aware of its underperformance in Buganda during both the presidential and parliamentary elections, noting that the outcome, though disappointing, was neither unprecedented nor ignored by the party leadership.
"We acknowledged from the beginning that we didn't do well in the Buganda region, both in the presidential and parliamentary elections. This wasn't the first time we had lost a region. Every time we don't perform well, we go back to the drawing board," she said.
Namayanja explained that one of the major factors contributing to the ruling party's losses in the 2021 general presidential and parliamentary elections was internal competition, where multiple candidates with NRM leanings contested for the same positions, following the failure of some aspirants to accept the outcome of NRM primaries, ultimately splitting the vote and weakening the party's electoral strength.
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"We also had to deal with internal party dynamics. NRM lost many constituencies in 2021 because we had many NRM-leaning candidates fighting for one position," she said.
Despite these challenges, Namayanja said the party has since made significant progress in addressing internal divisions and strengthening cohesion among its members and structures.
"We aren't at 100 percent, but we are far better in terms of party unity this time around," she said.
Emphasizing the strategic importance of the Buganda region, Namayanja described it as a critical electoral battleground due to its large population and voter numbers.
"Politics is about numbers. Buganda has the biggest numbers, so it's definitely a critical area for us," she days.
In the last elections, the NRM suffered a major setback in Buganda, securing only 35% of the presidential vote and winning just 31 out of 105 parliamentary seats in the region. This marked a sharp decline from previous years, where the party had received around 69% in 2011 and 80% in 2006.
The poor performance was largely attributed to the rise of Robert Kyagulanyi's National Unity Platform (NUP), widespread youth support for the opposition, concerns over land grabbing, and internal divisions within the NRM caused by losing candidates running as independents.
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With less than a month to the polls, Namayanja's remarks underscore the NRM's renewed focus on internal consolidation, lessons learned from previous elections, and targeted engagement in key regions as the party positions itself for future political engagements.
