Uganda: Presidential Candidate Mabirizi Petitions Court to Halt January 15, 2026 Election
Kampala, Uganda — With just weeks to go before Uganda’s general elections scheduled for January 15, 2026, Conservative Party (CP) presidential candidate Joseph Mabirizi has taken his fight to the Constitutional Court, seeking to halt the upcoming polls over what he calls “fundamental constitutional violations” in the electoral framework.
In a petition filed at the Constitutional Court, Mabirizi argues that a series of irregularities and legal gaps threaten the credibility of the election. Among his concerns are the integrity of the national voter register, the use of biometric voter verification machines without clear legal backing, and the deployment of the military during the electoral process. He also accuses the government of enabling the partisan use of state resources to benefit the incumbent National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate.
“You cannot speak of freedom when soldiers beat citizens for attending opposition rallies. You cannot claim fairness when the voter register itself cannot be trusted,” Mabirizi said in Kampala on Friday, according to his petition remarks. “And you cannot call it democracy when public resources are used to campaign for one candidate while others are tear-gassed, arrested and blocked.”
Mabirizi’s petition also references longstanding calls for electoral reform. He noted that a 2016 Supreme Court ruling in the Amama Mbabazi v. Museveni and Electoral Commission case ordered Parliament to enact comprehensive legislation regulating election technology — a directive he says remains unimplemented nearly nine years later.
Warning that he could withdraw from the presidential race if his concerns are ignored, Mabirizi questioned whether an election held under the current framework could ever be considered free and fair, especially when opposition activities have, he claims, been met with intimidation and obstacles.
Conservative Party president Ken Lukyamuzi described the petition as a “wake-up call,” warning that holding elections under what he termed a “broken system” could plunge the country into deeper constitutional and political crisis. He pointed to unimplemented Supreme Court-ordered reforms, including recommendations to remove the military from the electoral process and extend the deadline for filing presidential election petitions from 15 to 60 days.
Lukyamuzi asked, “How can we go into an election without honouring the recommendation of the Supreme Court in the Amama Mbabazi case? Under Article 132(1) of the Constitution the Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal; its decisions and orders cannot be ignored.”
The Electoral Commission (EC) has not yet responded to Mabirizi’s claims.
Mabirizi is among at least seven opposition candidates challenging President Yoweri Museveni — who is seeking another five-year term that could see him extend his rule to nearly 50 years since first taking office.
End
