In a fresh push, the National Unity Platform (NUP) submitted “thousands more” signatures on Monday morning to Uganda’s Electoral Commission (EC), following a report by the commission that claimed the party lacked the required number of signatures from certain regions to nominate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) as its presidential candidate.
NUP Secretary-General David Lewis Rubongoya made the announcement on X.
According to Rubongoya, sub-regional and district NUP teams “raced against time” to collect the signatures in affected regions.
He thanked the many party supporters who continue to come to the NUP headquarters, describing their efforts as a “noble duty.”
This development comes after the EC asked NUP to secure signatures from 18 more districts.
The commission said the party had submitted verified signatures from 80 out of the required 98 districts.
Under Ugandan election law, a presidential candidate is supposed to present at least 100 signatures from each of at least 98 districts.
Rubongoya said NUP had earlier submitted signatures from over 130 districts—well above the legal minimum.
The party claims that many of its submitted signatures were deemed invalid or dropped, with allegations that some supporters, once contacted for verification by the EC, denied they had signed—some allegedly under pressure.
Meanwhile, the nomination window is fast closing. Scheduled presidential nominations are set for 23-24 September, and any candidate whose paperwork fails to meet the legal standards risks being excluded.