The President of the Democratic Party (DP) and Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, has called for a shift in Uganda's national political discourse, urging citizens to prioritize accountability, service delivery, and electoral credibility over partisan blame.
Speaking on NBS Frontline on Thursday, Mao said debates around elections should be grounded in facts and fairness, rather than blanket generalisations about political parties.
"I think we shouldn't focus on the individual political parties but on the citizens of Uganda. Ugandans must continue to talk about their expectations of the NRM. Where there is evidence of the NRM not fulfilling their obligations, the conversations should continue," he said.
Mao cautioned against dismissing the popularity or political history of candidates based solely on party affiliation, referencing the ongoing dispute surrounding the Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament (WMP) race.
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"I know for a fact that the NRM candidate in the Masaka WMP race departed for Masaka very many years ago. She started championing popular causes. To talk about her like she didn't have any kind of following is very unfair," Mao said.
The remarks come amid heightened legal and political tension following a controversial ruling by the Masaka Chief Magistrate's Court, which overturned the Electoral Commission's (EC) earlier declaration and installed NRM's Justine Nameere as the duly elected Woman MP for Masaka City.
The EC had on January 16, 2026, declared NUP's Nalubowa the winner with 25,443 votes, ahead of Nameere, who polled 20,334 votes.
Other candidates included Juliet Kakande of the Democratic Front with 6,343 votes, and independent Sauya Nanyonga with 6,196 votes.
Nameere petitioned the court, alleging irregularities in the tallying process, including the exclusion of results from 11 out of 314 polling stations.
On January 30, 2026, Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe ordered a full recount.
The recount, conducted over the weekend and concluded on February 1, dramatically reversed the outcome.
Revised results placed Nameere in the lead with 25,502 votes, while Nalubowa's tally dropped to 23,176. Kakande's votes decreased to 6,136, and Nanyonga's to 5,921.
The ruling has drawn widespread criticism from legal experts and political observers, who argue that the recount violated key provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005, and long-established judicial precedent.
Sections 52, 55, and 112 govern the timing of recount applications, the handling and integrity of ballot boxes, and prohibit courts from adjudicating parliamentary election disputes on weekends or public holidays.
Court proceedings revealed anomalies, including one ballot box with a broken seal, six allegedly empty boxes, and two boxes containing votes exclusively for the NRM candidate.
Despite these issues, the court set aside the affected boxes while counting the remainder--an approach critics say contradicts at least six High Court rulings, which prohibit recounts where ballot integrity is compromised.
Magistrate Asiimwe defended the decision, arguing that strict adherence to "old laws and earlier court decisions" should not override substantive justice.
Commenting on the broader issue of electoral integrity, Mao questioned the plausibility of extreme outcomes.
"I don't think it's possible to have a ballot box where all ballots were ticked in favour of only one candidate," he said.
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He also cited Uganda's political history, noting that electoral malpractice has previously had devastating consequences.
"In Uganda, we had a big war in Luwero because of election rigging. NRM remains on trial because the reason they went to the bush was election rigging," Mao said.
Calling for nuance and restraint, Mao urged both political actors and citizens to engage with specifics rather than sweeping accusations.
"Today, we should move away from generalisation. Let's look at specifics. The good is that everyone is complaining. I heard the President say that the opposition is cheating, while the opposition say the NRM is cheating," he said.
Mao further questioned why elections in Uganda have become existential struggles rather than democratic contests.
"Why are elections in Uganda a matter of life and death? Elections should be a competition to serve," he said.
