By Aggrey Baba
Hon. Nathan Nandala Mafabi, the FDC presidential candidate in the January 15, 2026 presidential elections has highlighted systemic weaknesses which marred the process, saying the exercise exposed gaps in fairness, voter participation, and democratic credibility.
The revelation was made on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026, in Mbale where Mafabi explained that opposition campaigns were conducted under difficult conditions, including poor roads, limited resources, and security challenges, while President Museveni, the NRM candidate, benefited from extensive state support.
“We moved across the country in a very hostile environment. While we were stuck in waterlogged roads, the NRM candidate was using public resources and flying across the country,” he said.
Mafabi questioned the official voter turnout figures released by the Electoral Commission (EC), noting that a significant number of registered voters did not vote. He attributed this to public skepticism and a belief that the results were predetermined, adding that many people had told him and his team that there was no need to vote because the results were already decided.
Mafabi also raised concerns about the reliability of electoral technologies, including the biometric voter verification kits (BVVK), noting that despite government spending over 70 million dollars on them, the machines failed on election day [January 15, 2026] leaving voters disenfranchised.
He further criticized the heavy deployment of security forces during the elections and alleged irregularities in the counting and tallying of votes, further suggesting that Museveni’s prolonged presidency had weakened institutions and contributed to a lack of credibility in the electoral process.
Despite rejecting the presidential results, Mafabi noted that the FDC won nine (9) parliamentary seats, though he said this did not fully reflect the party’s support. He encouraged the people of Uganda to remain engaged and reminded them that political power is temporary, saying “all leaders come and go. Uganda belongs to its people.” (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
