Summary:
- Dr. Tanga urged registrars not to be intimidated by political figures seeking undue influence.
KUIKWE: The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Dr. Tanga Odoi, has cautioned politicians against interfering with the ongoing update of the party registers.
Phase two of the register update exercise officially commenced today, Wednesday, January 29, and will last for four days.
Speaking on Tuesday, January 28, in Najjembe Town Council, Lugazi, Buikwe District, Dr. Tanga warned that individuals attempting to frustrate the process would be held accountable in a court of law.
“There are some politicians who want to contest and take control of the process. As a party, we shall not allow this. These are our staff, and they take orders only from the party secretariat officials,” he said.
Dr. Tanga urged registrars not to be intimidated by political figures seeking undue influence.
“Do not allow yourselves to be intimidated by these people. Do not let them control you. Some will bring individuals claiming to be voters from certain villages, but if they are not from that village, do not register them. If we find out, there will be consequences,” he warned.
He further revealed that some politicians, frustrated by registrars’ refusal to comply with their demands, had resorted to tarnishing their reputations by branding them as opposition members.
“When a registrar refuses to bow to certain leaders, they start spreading rumors that he or she belongs to the opposition. Some of these individuals have worked with the party for years, and just because they don’t agree with you, you start labeling them as opposition,” Dr. Tanga said.
He emphasized the importance of maintaining neutrality to produce a credible register that all members accept.
“We must carry out our work impartially and successfully. That is why I came to Najjembe Sub-county—one of our registrars fell sick, but a group of politicians tried to take advantage of his condition to manipulate the process,” he stated.
Dr. Tanga clarified that when a sub-county registrar is unwell, the parish registrar should step in to ensure continuity of the exercise.
Dr. Tanga also disclosed that NRM party chairperson and President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, is setting up teams to reconcile party members in regions where multiple NRM candidates plan to contest for the same seat in the 2026 elections.
“The President has assigned teams to visit various parts of the country to reconcile politicians. This initiative aims to prevent the division of NRM votes in the general elections, with Buikwe being one of the key areas of focus,” he said.
He acknowledged that internal competition had cost NRM seats in previous elections.
“In the last general elections, we lost Buikwe because we had too many candidates. This was a mistake that we must correct as a party,” he explained.
Dr. Tanga announced that NRM plans to hold party primaries by July, conduct reconciliation among members in August, and finalize nominations by September.
Last year, from March 13 to 17, NRM embarked on a nationwide register update exercise across all 72,000 villages. Following the process, the party registered 18 million members, a figure officially announced by President Museveni.
