Museveni Orders Parliament to Postpone Sittings for NRM Elections, Voter Audit

In a move signalling the high priority placed on internal party affairs, President Yoweri Museveni has directed the postponement of parliamentary sittings scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2025. This decision is to facilitate the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s nationwide elections and a comprehensive voter register audit.

The President’s directive emphasises the significance of the NRM’s grassroots mobilisation and the need to ensure the accuracy of its membership records. On May 6th, the NRM will conduct elections for its internal party structures and Local Council (LC) I flag bearers across all 72,000 villages in Uganda. This exercise will coincide with village-level “barazas,” public gatherings aimed at scrutinizing and updating the party’s voter registers.

Addressing the nation, President Museveni outlined the four key objectives of the May 6th exercise:

1. Voter Register Audit: “We will audit our voter registers by reading out the names of registered members and removing those who have passed away or have relocated,” he stated.
2. Accuracy Correction: The barazas will serve to “correct any mistakes to ensure the accuracy of our leaders’ information.”²
3. Information Update: Party members will be expected to “update information by adding phone numbers, national identity card numbers, etc., to the registers.”
4. Village Electoral College: “The Baraza will be utilized as a village Electoral College for electing party leadership structures and LC I flag bearers,” the President clarified, emphasizing that these will be direct elections with “one person, one vote.”

The President detailed the voting process, stating, “Voting will take place by lining up behind your preferred candidates or their portraits. Please note that proxy voting is not permitted. You must be present to vote in person.”

He urged all NRM leaders and members to actively participate in the barazas within their respective villages. “All NRM members should arrive at their village centers by 10 am on May 6, 2025, to engage in these activities, which will take place from 10 am to 2 pm,” he instructed.

To underscore the importance of this exercise, President Museveni announced the cancellation of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday and confirmed that the Speaker of Parliament had agreed to postpone the parliamentary sitting. He also mentioned that he personally will be in Ntungamo, going through a village where many people were attending, to assist in verifying the NRM village registers.

“Further details will be provided by the NRM Electoral Commission,” President Museveni added. “Thank you, and I wish you all good luck.”