President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has claimed that the opposition benefited from low voter turnout among National Resistance Movement (NRM) supporters, revealing that nearly 10 million registered voters believed to back the ruling party did not show up at polling stations.
Museveni made the remarks on Sunday while receiving his official presidential election results at his country home in Rwakitura, following the January 15, 2026 polls.
According to the President, Uganda’s electoral register contains over 21 million voters, with about 18 million fully registered and eligible. However, only around 11 million participated in the election a gap Museveni says worked in the opposition’s favour.
“The opposition was lucky. About 10 million of my people didn’t turn up to vote. If they had, the embarrassment would have been much bigger. We got about 8 million votes, yet many of those stayed home are NRM members”., Museveni told supporters during his victory address.
Official results from the Electoral Commission show Museveni, the NRM flag bearer, secured over 7 million votes, translating to approximately 71% of the total vote cast.His closest challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) of the National Unity Platform (NUP), garnered about 24%.
Earlier in the campaign, Museveni had projected an 80% landslide victory, but the final tally fell nine points short of that target.
Despite the lower-than-expected margin, Museveni’s re-election has drawn congratulatory messages from regional heads of state.
Among those who have publicly hailed his victory are Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Kenya’s President William Ruto, both reaffirming commitments to continued regional cooperation.
Museveni’s comments now place fresh focus on voter turnout, with political observers questioning why millions of registered voters stayed away from the polls during one of Uganda’s most closely watched elections in recent years.