KAMPALA. The Democratic Front (DF) President Mathias Mpuuga has attributed his loss to the military, Electoral Commission (EC), and National Unity Platform (NUP) conspiracy.
The newly formed party did not win any parliamentary seats in the constituencies where they presented candidates in last Thursday presidential and parliamentary elections. They did not present a presidential candidate nor openly declare who they supported among the eight who vied to become the country’s chief executive.
Speaking to journalists at the party headquarters in Kampala on Monday, January 19, 2026, DF president Mathias Mpuuga said the entire election process was marred by irregularities, not transparent, dominated by security interruptions, arrests and intimidation of voters.
“DF observed the syndicated and deliberate ballot stuffing and multiple voting favouring NRM and NUP candidates against DF; they took advantage of the failed Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVK) machines, which greatly affected and disadvantaged our candidates,” Mr Mpuuga stated.
He accused the EC officials of enabling multiple voting by non-Masaka residents, adding that the National Voters Register was confiscated from DF agents on polling day.
“On top of disenfranchising voters by delayed voting and multiple voting captured everywhere, people were delivered in buses from outside Masaka to vote several times. So, it was a syndicate. That’s why we are calm,” said the former Leader of Opposition in Parliament.
According to him, the military took over the electoral process from the police which is legally mandated to man polling stations, including those in military barracks and prisons where thousands of voters were allegedly disenfranchised.
All the 88 nominated DF parliamentary candidates, including the party president (Mpuuga), lost the election.
Mr Mpuuga lost the Nyendo–Mukungwe seat to NUP’s Javira Ssebina, who got 21,447 votes. The parliamentary commissioner polled 10,548 votes. At the Kirumba Health Centre II polling station where he cast his ballot, Mr Mpuuga got 59 votes against Ssebina’s 103 votes.
Similarly, all the DF executive members lost. For instance Dr Abed Bwanika, who is the party treasurer lost the Kimanya–Kabonera Division seat to Mr Patrick Kuteesa of NUP while Ms Juliet Nakabuye Kakande was defeated by NUP’s Ms Ruth Nalubowa in the Masaka City Woman MP race.
Other DF candidates who lost are Michael Mabike, who was beaten to the Makindye East MP seat by NUP’s Ali Nganda Mulyanyama; Samuel Lubega Mukaaku lost the Rubaga South MP seat to NUP’s Ms Euginia Nassolo; Mpuuga’s associate Mr Medard Ssegona of Busiro East, lost to Mr Emmanuel Magoola, an independent but NUP-leaning candidate; and Joyce Bagala lost the Mityana Woman MP to the NRM’s Judith Nabakooba, among other candidates.