The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretariat’s Sub-Regional Coordinator for Kigezi, Lt. Col. Edward Natukunda, has attributed the party’s strong performance in the July 28 LC1 elections to early planning, strategic coordination and intensive grassroots mobilisation.
Speaking during a radio talk show analysing the elections, Lt. Col. Natukunda said provisional results showed the NRM had won more than 90 percent of the 3,303 LC1 chairperson positions across the Kigezi sub-region. He added that candidates who lost were largely defeated by NRM-leaning independents, with the exception of Rukungiri District, where the opposition People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) registered a handful of victories.
“The reports we have so far show that NRM’s victory stands at over 90 percent. If we include NRM-leaning independents, our support rises to about 95 percent,” Natukunda said.
He said the ruling party’s performance was the result of deliberate planning, noting that the NRM fielded candidates in nearly every village across the country, unlike other political parties.
“We had a flag bearer in each of the more than 70,000 villages nationwide, whereas other parties rarely fielded candidates in many of these villages,” he said.
Natukunda revealed that the NRM Secretariat deployed 21 coordination teams across the country ahead of the elections. In Kigezi, a seven-member team led by Deputy National Treasurer Hon. Jacqueline Kyatuheire began mobilisation on July 19 by meeting district party leaders and Members of Parliament from the region to outline campaign strategies and activities.
He said sub-regional coordinators were tasked with delivering campaign messages from NRM National Chairman Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Secretary General Richard Todwong, coordinating mobilisation teams, providing tactical guidance and monitoring polling day activities.
Kabale District NRM Secretary for Publicity, Edison Turyahabwa, said sustained mobilisation at sub-county level enabled the party to dominate the elections. According to provisional results, opposition parties failed to win any polling stations in some sub-counties, while several NRM candidates in each of Kabale District’s 15 sub-counties were elected unopposed.
Meanwhile, Robert Bugabo, the newly elected LC1 chairperson for Rugarama II Cell in Kyanamira Sub-county, credited his victory to the guidance provided by the NRM Secretariat. He said candidates were encouraged to focus their campaigns on service delivery and community development.
Bugabo said his campaign faced sectarian attacks, with opponents alleging that he was a Rwandan immigrant and attempting to portray his Anglican faith as unsuitable for a predominantly Catholic community. He said he responded by promoting unity and emphasizing the NRM’s message of inclusive leadership.
“We told people that a village is a community where everyone works together to solve common problems regardless of tribe, religion or political affiliation. We also shared the NRM manifesto, which focuses on wealth creation and improved service delivery,” Bugabo said.
