JEEMA rules out fielding a candidate for presidency, urges public to carry party flag

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The Justice Forum (JEEMA) party says it will not field a presidential candidate in the 2026 General Election.

Party spokesperson Swaib Kaggwa Nsereko says the decision is the outcome of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) convened recently.

The political party, headed by Member of Parliament Asuman Basalirwa, was, according to its website, established as an alternative political organisation to liberate the deprived and marginalised people of Uganda from tyranny.

The party, which has only one MP in the current House, in April this year suspended eight senior members over internal party wrangles, triggering a storm.

“We will focus our resources on Parliamentary and sub-national elections, including district, municipality and sub-county levels," he said on September 17, 2025, in Kampala.

"We invite members of the public to contest on the JEEMA ticket for positions such as Parliament and parish councillorship, where the Electoral Commission (EC) has not yet nominated candidates,” Nsereko said.

He congratulated JEEMA candidates who have successfully been nominated and appreciated what he termed as the public's warm reception and promised support for their candidates' success.

"While JEEMA has a rich history of participating in presidential contests, notably challenging President Yoweri Museveni in the 1996 and 2001 elections, we will use this experience to inform our analysis of opposition candidates' manifestos. We aim to identify the candidate whose vision aligns closest with ours and guide Ugandans and party members accordingly,” Nsereko said.

The party was established as a pressure group in 1995 under the one party movement system since multi-party politics in Uganda was then banned.