Ambassador Nekesa leads movement to win NRM party LC1 elections

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda reports that National Resistance Movement (NRM) National Treasurer Ambassador Barbara Nekesa Oundo has been mobilising party leaders and supporters in Uganda’s Bukedi Sub-region ahead of grassroots elections. According to the report, Nekesa urged NRM structures to back village-level candidates who can demonstrate accountability, openness and commitment to community service in the forthcoming Women Council and Local Council I (LC I) polls.

The article cites Electoral Commission preparations for elections across 71,214 villages, 10,717 parishes and 2,191 sub-counties, towns and municipal divisions. It also refers to commission figures showing 21,681,491 registered voters for the 2025/2026 electoral cycle. Watchdog Uganda says Nekesa called on residents to participate in the Women Council elections on July 23 and LC I elections on July 28, while also thanking Bukedi voters for supporting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the NRM national chairman, in the 2026 General Election.

The report frames LC I leadership as central to Uganda’s decentralised governance system, citing Electoral Commission chairperson Simon Byabakama Mugenyi and Local Government Ministry Permanent Secretary Ben Kumumanya on the importance of citizen participation and local decision-making. It also cites local officials in Busia district who described village chairpersons as a first point of contact for information on government programmes, community concerns and infrastructure needs.

The development matters because LC I leaders operate at the village level, where residents most directly encounter government administration. While the article focuses on NRM mobilisation in Bukedi, the wider elections will determine leadership structures in villages across the country.