Former Aruu County MP Odonga Otto has weighed in on the unfolding race for Uganda’s Speakership, arguing that only candidates backed by the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Central Executive Committee (CEC) have any realistic chance of success.
Speaking during an interview on Next Radio on Saturday, Otto dismissed other aspirants who have recently expressed interest in the race through the NRM process, saying they are unlikely to progress beyond formal nominations.
“Other than those endorsed by PLU and CEC for the speakership race; the rest are just participants and not competitors,” Otto said, as the ruling party finalised its internal alignment ahead of Parliament’s first sitting on Monday.
His remarks come at a time when the NRM has officially fronted Defence Minister Jacob Oboth-Oboth for Speaker and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa for the top parliamentary leadership positions.
The party’s decision followed a Central Executive Committee meeting at State House Entebbe, which effectively consolidated support behind the two candidates after Speaker Anita Among bowed out of the race earlier this month.
Otto further defended the CEC’s decision to allow multiple members to express interest in the speakership race, saying it was meant to preserve internal democracy within the ruling party.
However, he insisted that the exercise does not change the final outcome.
“What the CEC did was right; to open doors for members to express interest in the speakership race, but those people are ‘going nowhere’,” he said.
According to Otto, the nomination process will proceed as a formality, after which the party’s preferred candidates will remain standing as the only viable contenders.
“CEC does not want to stifle internal democracy; they will be nominated just for the record and that will mark the end of their story,” he added.
Otto also pointed to what he described as shifting centres of political power, suggesting that influence within Uganda’s leadership structures may be extending beyond traditional party organs.
“Right now, PLU seems more powerful than the NRM,” he said, adding that the real political debate now lies in “the involvement of the military in politics.”
His comments reflect growing political tension within ruling party circles as the Speakership race transitions from internal competition to near-final consolidation ahead of the parliamentary vote.
With the NRM caucus set to meet on Sunday before Parliament convenes, the focus now shifts to whether any last-minute political realignments could alter the current lineup—or whether the Oboth-Oboth and Tayebwa ticket will proceed unchallenged into the 12th Parliament leadership contest.