Uganda’s ruling party announced Tuesday that President Yoweri Museveni will seek re-election in the general polls early next year.
The 80-year-old leader, who has ruled for nearly four decades, was widely expected to extend his grip on power.
Opposition groups have faced a harsh crackdown ahead of the January elections, with activists and politicians intimidated, abducted, and detained.
Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) confirmed he aims to retain his roles as party chairman and presidential flag bearer in 2026.
Tanga Odoi, NRM’s electoral commission chairperson, told AFP that Museveni will officially declare his candidacy soon.
Once praised for championing good governance, Museveni has since crushed opposition and amended the constitution to allow endless terms.
His announcement follows musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine’s declaration that he will also run in the 2026 elections.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, lost to Museveni in 2021 amid reports of violence and electoral irregularities.
Wine has been arrested repeatedly, while Museveni’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has issued violent threats against him on social media.
Last year, longtime opponent Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and brought back to Uganda to face treason charges carrying the death penalty.
International rights groups have condemned Besigye’s detention, calling it politically motivated repression.
His wife, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima, said Besigye is being criminalised simply for challenging Museveni’s rule.
As Uganda approaches another pivotal election, the nation grapples with a political landscape shadowed by intimidation and fierce power struggles.