The founding member and president of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Rtd Gen. Mugisha Gregory Muntu, has revealed plans for his party to participate in the 2026 general elections.
In an interview with NBS Television on Wednesday, Muntu emphasized the importance of staying engaged in electoral processes despite Uganda’s challenging political environment.
“We don’t look at just 2026. We are looking at transforming the country. We want to participate and overwhelm the regime,” Gen. Muntu said.
He confirmed that ANT will likely front a presidential candidate unless unforeseen circumstances arise. However, he stressed that having a candidate alone is not enough and that the focus must be on building the necessary support infrastructure.
“We know that the candidate alone is not the solution. You must have a good candidate, but for that candidate to have a fighting chance, you must have built the necessary infrastructure around him or her. That’s what we are concentrating on,” he explained.
Responding to ongoing campaigns advocating for a protest vote or boycott, particularly by the National Unity Platform, Muntu said he does not believe in election boycotts.
“We don’t believe in boycotts. The only time you can engage in a boycott is if you’ve built such strong capabilities and have control over your support base to the point that a boycott paralyzes the country,” he stated.
“If you’re not able to pull that off, then it’s a high-risk gamble. You could disappear after that election. Participating in Uganda’s elections is the worst experience — but like in the army, some colleagues will be shot, they will die and be buried, but do you disengage? No. You continue until you achieve victory,” Muntu added.
As the 2026 general elections draw closer, political parties across the country are mobilising at the grassroots level. Whether Uganda’s political culture will evolve beyond intimidation, corruption, and injustice remains to be seen.