NRM primaries captured in 60 photos

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Uganda’s ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), on Thursday, 17 July 2025, held its highly anticipated primaries to choose flag bearers for Constituency Members of Parliament (MPs) and District Woman MPs ahead of the 2026 general elections.

The polls took place in villages across the country, with party members turning up at designated polling stations as early as 10:00 am to have their names read and confirm attendance.

Voting was scheduled to start at midday, but at several stations, the process began later than expected due to delays in the arrival of voter registers.

In some areas, confusion arose as members who turned up to vote could not find their names on the registers and were turned away. While certain polling stations recorded a low voter turnout, others saw long queues of determined party members lining up behind their favourite candidates.

Security was heavily deployed, especially in hotspot areas, to ensure law and order. Prior to the polls, party officials had issued stern warnings against favouritism and electoral malpractice, emphasising the need for a peaceful and transparent process.

Despite the overall calm in many areas, reports of isolated violence and tension emerged from a few polling stations. Elsewhere, the exercise proceeded peacefully, with party supporters cheering on their candidates.

By 5 pm, results from most polling stations had started trickling in, and jubilant supporters from winning camps could already be seen celebrating their candidates’ early victories.

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Here are some selected moments from the NRM primaries as captured across the country.

By 10:00 am, voters had already begun to arrive, some with their candidates. They cheered for their candidates while others held posters.

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Voter name verification!

Only party members are allowed to vote. To ensure that every voter is eligible, they must wait for their names to be read or at least cross-check through the register.

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Time to line up behind your candidate. Immediately the voting began, voters rushed behind the backs of their candidates or those holding posters representing their candidates.

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Some polling stations had a low voter turnout. Even after waiting for quite some time, only a handful of voters showed up.

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Everyone must be counted!

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Security personnel on alert! Security was deployed, particularly in hotspot areas, to ensure law and order.

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By 5 pm, results from most polling stations had started trickling in, and jubilant supporters from winning camps could already be seen celebrating their candidates’ early victories.