Uganda's 80-Year-Old President, in Power for 40 Years, Announces Bid for Five More Years

"If Elected, Will Achieve Leap to High-Income Middle-Income Country"
Came to Power in January 1986 Coup... Secured Six Terms
Constitution Amended Twice... Enabled Prolonged Rule

Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for nearly 40 years, has been officially nominated as the presidential candidate for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) for the election scheduled for January next year, making it likely that his rule will be extended.

According to the BBC on July 7 (local time), President Museveni stated in a speech the previous day that, if elected, he would bring about a qualitative transformation to elevate Uganda to a high-income middle-income country.

Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda. AP Yonhap News.

President Museveni came to power through a coup in January 1986, became the first directly elected president in 1996, and then won consecutive elections in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021, securing a total of six terms.

His opponents claim that President Museveni has maintained power through coercive means. The opposition and the international community have raised allegations of election fraud and suppression of the opposition in every election. The constitution, including provisions on presidential age and term limits, was amended twice, paving the way for his prolonged rule. In July 2005, the three-term limit for the presidency was abolished, and in December 2017, the upper and lower age limits for the presidency were removed.

The BBC reported that in next year’s election, Bobi Wine (real name Robert Kyagulanyi), a former singer turned opposition politician, is expected to be a major challenger. In an interview with the BBC in April, Wine said that he would run for president if officially nominated by his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP). He claimed, "Living as an opposition member in Uganda means being branded a terrorist," and argued that state repression is intensifying.

Wine also challenged President Museveni in the 2021 election but was defeated. That election was also marred by widespread allegations of electoral fraud and suppression of the opposition.

If President Museveni wins the next election, he will begin his seventh term, extending his rule to an unprecedented 45 years. The BBC noted that if he begins his fifth decade-long cycle through this election, concerns about Uganda’s democracy and political freedoms are expected to intensify further.