KOLOLO.The government Chief Whip in Parliament, Mr Denis Hamson Obua, has sailed through as new National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice-chairperson, northern region after defeating two other candidates .
Obua beat two other candidates to the seat with 3,591 votes (67.4 percent ) out of 5,327 of total votes cast. His rivals were Daniel Fred Kidega (658 votes) and Sam Engola (1,078 votes).
The seat fell vacant following the death of former Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah in 2022, but had never been filled.
The seat is part of the hotly contested slots of the ruling party’s central executive committee (CEC), which is the top decision-making body of the party.
Ruling NRM party’s CEC is not merely a party structure; it is the de facto nucleus of political decision-making in Uganda, and advises party chairperson President Museveni and often serves as the final arbiter on matters ranging from parliamentary candidature to cabinet appointments.
So, to be on CEC is to have a direct hand in shaping Uganda’s political architecture, according to political analyst Crispin Kaheru, a member of the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
Close to 300 party members were nominated to vie for various positions of CEC for the period 2025-2031.