Political analysts are raising fresh alarms over increasing corruption in Uganda’s political landscape, warning that the buying and selling of political parties is enriching a few political group leaders while steadily undermining democratic processes.
This growing trend is already complicating the Electoral Commission’s efforts to register new political parties ahead of the 2025 elections.
Observers note that individuals seeking to form new political entities now face a more complex and amended registration process.
Political analyst Rogers Barigayomwe said, “Some political figures claim that this situation is continuing to evolve,” adding that the climate is forcing many politicians to opt for purchasing or rebranding existing parties rather than attempting to register new ones.
The situation echoes the political upheaval of 2020, when the People Power movement broke away from the National Unity Reconciliation and Peace (NURP) party to form the National Unity Platform (NUP), triggering a major shift in Uganda’s opposition landscape.
The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), a new political group attempting to secure registration, is reportedly facing significant hurdles.
“Political players in PFF are struggling as they attempt to register their party, and they seem exhausted from the process. We are overqualified to register a political party—a team led by Dr Besigye, myself, Mwijukye, Salaam Musumba, Ambassador Birigwa and others are overqualified to register a political party. You can’t subject us to a half-year process,” PFF figure Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda remarked.
Despite mounting frustrations, the Electoral Commission maintains that it is strictly following the law.
In an interview, Julius Mucunguzi, the Commission spokesperson, said the body is simply applying the Political Parties and Organizations Act.
"The Commission follows the Political Parties and Organizations Act, which stipulates how a political party is registered with strict regulations on the two-thirds rule," Mucunguzi said.
However, critics argue that the Commission is not doing enough to protect the integrity of political party registration and that the tightening of regulations may be inadvertently fuelling the underground trade in parties.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Democratic Alliance (DA) group, led by Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba, is also exploring options to rebrand an already registered party to avoid the hurdles of a fresh registration process.
The Electoral Commission currently oversees 26 political parties.