Justice minister Mao picks nomination forms to stand against Museveni
Mao now joins over 100 others who have picked nomination forms in a bid to unseat incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.
Democratic Party secretary general Gerald Siranda receives nomination forms for Democratic Party presidential candidate Nobert Mao from the Principal Election Officer, Election Management Department, Samuel Kiyingi, at the EC today. (Photos by Maria Wamala)
By Paul Kiwuuwa and Umaru Kashaka
Journalists @New Vision
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Justice and constitutional affairs minister Norbert Mao, has picked nomination forms for the 2026 General Election, making a third attempt to contest for the country’s presidency.
Mao now joins over 100 others who have picked nomination forms in a bid to unseat incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.
Mao, who is also the Democratic Party (DP) president general, picked up the forms from the Electoral Commission headquarters in Kampala on Monday (August 18) through the secretary general Gerald Siranda.
“Our party went through the national delegates conference and eventually endorsed Mao’s candidature. In DP, the moment you are voted as a party president, you are automatically endorsed as a presidential flag-bearer,” Siranda said.
Mao, 58, showed on July 20, 2022, that he is indeed strategic and tactical as a politician.
He made a political move that surprised many when he signed a working cooperation agreement with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party as a way of having greater leverage.
This formal agreement was the first of its kind in Uganda and saw Mao, a former fierce critic of Museveni, appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs the following day.
It entails several areas for co-operation between the two parties in areas such as justice and law, peace and security, as well as the economy.
The agreement also saw NRM use its numerical superiority as a constituency to have Siranda elected as one of the country’s nine representatives to the Arusha-based East African Legislative Assembly.
However, Mao’s co-operation with the NRM seems to have alienated large sections of his DP base.
DP is long gone
In July this year, Buikwe South MP Dr Lulume Bayigga explained his defection from DP to the newly formed People’s Front for Freedom political party, where he has since taken up a top post of one of the four deputy chairpersons.
“I sadly observe that the DP I know was overturned long ago. The real democrats are long gone. What remains are party colours, symbols and slogans. The values are long gone. No more love, no more care, no more openness, no more sincerity, no more honesty and no more truthfulness,” he said.
He added that what they see in “Norbert Mao’s DP are more of self-seekers, political dealers, and masqueraders”.
“The purpose of acquiring state power is long gone... On May 30, 2025 and the subsequent two days, all Ugandans were anxious about what would come out of Mbarara in the DP national delegates’ conference. They had hoped that the party they respected would lead by example to bring home the desired leadership change,” he said.
He contended that what was observed in that conference was a good example of “a political disgrace” in their times, and in the history of Uganda.
He claimed the camp of the winner of the party’s presidential race (Mao) stole ballot boxes and introduced another presidential ballot box with ballots pre-ticked for its candidate. It was absurd,” he said.