Tinkasimire challenges opposition to assess 2026 election loss

What the report says

Former Buyaga West MP Barnabas Tinkasimire has urged Uganda’s opposition parties to look inward after the 2026 elections, arguing that they should assess organisational and strategic failures rather than focus only on complaints about the conduct of the polls. According to Nile Post, he said opposition groups need to review how they mobilised voters, protected their bases and responded to security and political pressure during the campaign period.

Tinkasimire made the comments on Monday during an appearance on Sanyuka TV. He acknowledged that opposition candidates faced difficult conditions, including what he described as heavy-handed treatment from police and the military, but said those challenges should not stop party leaders from examining weaknesses in their own structures and campaigns. He said the post-election period should be used to reorganise and prepare for future contests.

The remarks came months after the January 15, 2026 presidential election, in which the Electoral Commission declared President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement the winners. National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, was the closest challenger, and his party rejected the result. Nile Post reported that Tinkasimire also pressed the NRM to deliver on its campaign promises, warning that failure to do so could encourage future election malpractice and violence.