KAMPALA. Kampala is destined for a showdown as both ruling National Resistance Movement strongman Yoweri Museveni and Opposition youthful leader Robert Kyagulanyi chooses same day to be nominated for next year’s presidential polls.
According to Electoral Commission, both aspirants have chosen Tuesday, September 23, 2025 to appear at the EC for nomination.
Presidential nominations to be conducted at EC site in Lweza along Kampala- Entebbe Road where its permanent headquarters are to be constructed will last three days.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) Mr Kyagulanyi, after nomination he will hold two rallies in Nateete and Katwe, strongholds of opposition mobilization.
But with Museveni also expected at Lweza on the same day, the Entebbe–Kampala highway and its surroundings are now readying themselves to witness one of the heaviest security deployments in years.
Security analysts warn of inevitable traffic disruptions and potential clashes between rival supporters.
“It is common knowledge that when the President is going for a function, roads are closed in advance and there is always heavy army deployment .
Now with both Museveni and Kyagulanyi being nominated on the same day, it will definitely be a night mare for motorists using Entebbe Road,” a senior security officer, who preferred anonymity intimated to this publication on Thursday
EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi noted that while political parties choose their nomination slots, the Commission must “synchronize with other stakeholders, including the President, who is also due for nomination.” he said
This implies that EC may request Mr Kyagulanyi or Museveni to choose another day, but the pressure is likely to be put on the former to avoid possible clashes of their supporters.
Museveni, 81, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, will again contest on the NRM flag to extend his rule beyond 40 years. The incumbency gives Museveni access to state resources and protocols that opponents say compromise fairness.
Despite repeated Supreme Court recommendations since 2001 to strip the incumbent of presidential privileges at least five months before nominations, Museveni has never implemented such reforms, leaving the opposition leaders to argue that this perpetuates a skewed contest.
Uganda’s electoral history is dominated by accusations of state bias, with the two-decade rivalry between Museveni and Dr. Kizza Besigye epitomising the struggle.
Kyagulanyi’s second shot at presidency represents a generational continuation of that battle, though he now faces the same entrenched obstacles that defined earlier contests. It remains to be seen whether next Tuesday will be peaceful or chaos –packed as was the case during nomination in 2021.