As Uganda inches closer to the 2026 general elections, fresh attempts are underway among opposition political parties to forge a united front in a renewed bid to end President Museveni’s nearly four-decade hold on power.
However, while the resolve to work together remains strong in rhetoric, cracks are already emerging over the possibility of rallying behind a single presidential candidate — a factor that has historically derailed similar efforts.
Over the past two electoral cycles, Uganda’s opposition has made notable attempts to consolidate forces in coalitions such as the Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) and The Democratic Alliance (TDA).
Both initiatives raised hopes of unseating the National Resistance Movement (NRM), only to falter at critical moments due to internal disagreements, clashing egos, and divergent political strategies.
Now, with less than a year to the 2026 elections, leaders from several political parties — including the National Unity Platform (NUP), the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), People’s Front for Transition (PFT), Justice Forum (JEEMA), and the Conservative Party (CP) — have resumed talks aimed at establishing a collaborative framework.
“We (PFT) are talking with our colleagues in sister parties with a view of collaboration in terms of fielding candidates from the president up to the local levels,” revealed Phillips Wafula Oguttu, former Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and a key promoter of the PFT during an interview.
According to sources within some of these parties, Dr. Kizza Besigye — a four-time presidential candidate and long-time opposition figure currently facing incarceration — has been central to these discussions.
The vision, according to Oguttu, goes beyond electoral alliances.
“The strategies have now changed. We are no longer focusing on elections. Our focus now is on how to overthrow the NRM regime. Whichever means we agree, that’s what we’ll take and go for,” he said, indicating a broader strategic shift among some opposition factions toward regime change by means not limited to the ballot.
However, not all parties are enthusiastic about the idea of fielding a single presidential candidate.
UPC president Jimmy Akena, whose party has been a consistent player in multiparty politics, has voiced reservations over the push for a unified candidate.
He insists that in a functioning multiparty system, each political party has the right to field candidates in accordance with its policy platform.
“In a multiparty system, each political party is entitled to field their candidates according to their platform or program,” Akena told this website.
“All the political parties who are registered and want to participate in the general elections will be able to field their candidates on their own platform.”
Akena’s stance underscores a critical challenge the opposition has faced repeatedly — a lack of consensus on leadership and strategy.
During the 2021 elections, ten opposition candidates contested against President Museveni, who secured victory with 58.64% of the vote. The closest challenger, NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, garnered 34.83%.
This fragmentation, according to political analyst Gerald Werikhe, continues to weaken the opposition’s prospects.
“Political coalition is the way to go if the opposition is to stand a chance against the NRM, especially given how fragmented the opposition parties are,” said Werikhe.
However, he warns that unity efforts risk failure if not grounded in a well-structured and enforceable framework.
“What frameworks have they established that are guiding those talks? Because there is a difference between meeting in the room talking casually and having an organized framework guiding the cooperation,” he emphasized.
Werikhe further pointed to personality clashes and entrenched leadership egos as enduring obstacles. “The main problem is the ego of the party leaders,” he noted, echoing sentiments long cited by observers of Uganda’s opposition politics.
Despite the hurdles, optimism remains among some party actors that lessons from the past can inform a more pragmatic and less personality-driven process this time.
Whether these renewed discussions will bear fruit remains to be seen. But what is clear is that the dream of a united opposition remains alive — even if fragile. The coming months will test not just the political will of Uganda’s opposition leaders, but their ability to move beyond personal ambition toward a common goal.
As the electoral clock ticks, the window for meaningful coalition-building narrows. If unity is to be realized, opposition actors will need to act with urgency, discipline, and a shared sense of purpose that has eluded them for decades.