President Yoweri Museveni has said the opposition was fortunate that a large number of National Resistance Movement (NRM) supporters did not turn up to vote in the 2026 general election, arguing that the ruling party would have secured an even bigger victory had its full strength been mobilised.
“Opposition were lucky because 10 million of my people did not turn up. They would have been badly embarrassed,” Museveni said.
The President made the remarks on Sunday following his victory in the just-concluded general election.
On Saturday, Museveni was declared winner of the hotly contested presidential race after securing 7.9 million votes, representing 71.65% of the total votes cast. His main challenger, National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, came second with about 24% of the vote.
Speaking further, Museveni said the NRM garnered about eight million votes but noted that the party’s membership is significantly higher.
“When we reviewed our membership, we had about 21 million members, and 18 million of them are registered voters. We are now talking of eight million people who voted, meaning about 10 million did not turn up,” he said.
The President said the opposition has yet to witness the full electoral strength of the ruling party, describing the election outcome as only a partial demonstration of NRM’s support base.
“The opposition is lucky they have not seen our full strength,” Museveni said, adding that many of the spoiled votes recorded during the election were cast by NRM supporters.
He described the election as a useful test of the party’s mobilisation capacity but stressed that it did not reflect the party’s full potential.
“This was a good test of the strength of the NRM, but not all,” Museveni said.
According to the President, the 71.65% victory signals a return to the early days of the NRM when it had just captured power.
“We are beginning to go back to the principles of the NRM. If you remember the election of 1996, people were not willing to listen to anything from Paul Ssemwogerere because he had little impact in many parts of the country,” Museveni said.
He attributed the renewed public support to achievements such as a disciplined army, improved infrastructure, and the resolution of basic commodity shortages.
“We had dealt with key issues like having a disciplined army, rehabilitating infrastructure, and addressing shortages of basic items like soap and salt. People were united. That atmosphere is coming back,” he said.
Museveni added that peace across the country and government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) have restored public confidence in his administration.
“PDM has given people hope that they can get out of poverty. The skilling hubs have also given hope that children who dropped out of school can become productive,” the President said.