Museveni says NRM has “18.3 million” registered members, EC says Uganda has 17 million voters

President Museveni has said “18.3 million members” were recorded during the recent NRM registration exercise, a figure that will raise eyebrows given that Uganda has 17.6 million registered voters according to the Electoral Commission.

Museveni made the revelation while meeting members of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) at State House Entebbe yesterday.

In the meeting, the party secretariat reported back on the registration process that took place between the 13th and 17th of March.

Museveni said: “There were some gaps in the process, such as the criminality of money lenders who take away national Identity Cards from Ugandans and the limited involvement of NRM village chairpersons and we have resolved to address those, through legislation if necessary and return to the people at an appropriate time.”

The NRM numbers are going to raise eyebrows given that the Electoral Commission, according to its 2021 election statistics said there are 17.6 million registered voters.

The EC numbers are likely to increase ahead of the 2026 elections but historically, new voters never exceed 2.5 million between two election cycles. This means Uganda is likely to have between 19-20 million registered voters before 2026.

Uganda’s general elections since 1980 have been characterized by allegations of widespread rigging. In 2001 and 2006, when Dr Kizza Besigye petitioned court to overturn the elections, the judges agreed that while there was “rigging” in those elections, it was not sufficient to alter the final outcome.

Some analysts have said by exaggerating its membership, NRM is psychologically preparing the population for victory in 2026 by “whatever means.”

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