The Bukimbiri County Member of Parliament, Eddie Kwizera Wa-Gahungu, has picked nomination forms from the Electoral Commission to contest as an independent candidate in a bid to reclaim his seat in 2026 general elections.
Kwizera lost the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag in the party primaries held on July 17 to Asgario Turyagyenda. He polled 13,582 votes (45%) against Asgario’s 16,495 votes (55%).
Having represented the constituency for 15 years, Kwizera claims the primaries were marred by widespread voter intimidation, inaccuracies in the party register, and the inclusion of underage individuals in voting lines, grounds he cites for rejecting the outcome.
In the 2022 Bukimbiri County by-election, Kwizera, then the NRM candidate, defeated Asgario to retain his seat. He was declared winner by Kisoro District Returning Officer Daniel Nayebare after securing 12,214 votes against Asgario’s 10,105.
Independent candidate Edward Mutabazi finished third with 308 votes, while the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate, James Owebeyi, came last with 280 votes.
That by-election followed a court ruling that nullified the 2021 Bukimbiri County election results.
