The ruling National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections are facing criticism amid claims of excessive spending and suggestions that President Yoweri Museveni’s hand shaped the outcomes.
Former legislator Mubarak Munyagwa questioned the financial weight of the contest, saying even the Deputy Speaker had been unsettled by the scale of money used.
“When the Deputy Speaker, a wealthy man, raises concerns about the large sums of money involved in these CEC elections, it’s clear that the stakes were extremely high,” Munyagwa said.
Opposition legislator Joyce Bagala added that the results mirrored the preferences of the President.
“As I said earlier, the NRM CEC candidates backed by President Museveni are the ones who eventually emerged victorious. That has now come to pass,” she observed.
NRM spokesperson Rogers Mulindwa, however, defended the process, confirming that elections were nearing completion.
“We are in the final stages, with only the Youth MP flag bearers and the youth CEC representative remaining,” he said.
Mulindwa added that positions contested through petitions could still undergo legal review “as advised by the President.”
The remarks have renewed debate over whether the ruling party’s internal elections are genuinely competitive or ultimately steered by state power and financial muscle.
