According to the Buganda Region representative on the NUP EMC John Mary Ssebuufu, the committee begins with vetting aspirants from Wakiso, West Nile and Kigezi, then Kampala, Acholi and Ankole tomorrow, and on Wednesday, it will handle aspirants from Greater Masaka, Lango and Tooro.
Tensions are high at the National Unity Platform (NUP) party headquarters at Makerere-Kavule as the vetting for the 1,121 parliamentary aspirants seeking to stand the party flag kicks off.
The party Electoral Management committee (EMC) is divided into two teams to carry out the work simultaneously with a view to beat the seven-day deadline set for the work.
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The NUP is undertaking the vetting one month ahead of the two-day Electoral Commission’s nomination exercise scheduled for 15th and 16th October 2025.
As we went to press, the vetting area was busy with aspirants engaged in a lot of preparatory activities and by midday everything was moving with clockwork precision and with no security personnel littered around the premises as would be expected.
In an interview, the outgoing Wakiso district chairperson and aspirant MP for Busiro South, Dr. Matia Lwanga Bwanika said he is aspiring to go up the step from district level to the national assembly, and reported that he is prepared for the bid, having been prepared by Buganda Kingdom for fifteen years.
“Buganda Kingdom prepared me for 15 years when I worked in the palace on Radio CBS, and I am sure I have satisfied the 60% requirement researched from the grass roots, and I am now here for the remaining 40% calculated to establish how ready and knowledgeable about what we are aspiring to do,” Bwanika said.
And veteran electronic news anchor, Zambali Blasio Mukasa who wants to represent Nansana Municipality in parliament, also said that he has already been endorsed by voters and had no doubt that he is going to satisfy the party leadership about matters pertaining to the party.
Asked whether he was sure of a win from the EMC, Zambali had this to say, “I have satisfactorily prepared myself and without a grain of doubt, I am sure to win but since you can never know what may happen on the way, let us keep our eyes and ears open”.
Sources in the NUP told us that among questions to be asked include the roles of a parliamentarian, what have they done for the voters (for those who want a comeback), contribution to the struggle and for continuation of the party, foundation on which the NUP stands, the constitutional guidelines for a member of parliament, the initial presentation each intends to table, how they are going to look at human rights, and others.
According to the Buganda Region representative on the NUP EMC John Mary Ssebuufu, the committee begins with vetting aspirants from Wakiso, West Nile and Kigezi, then Kampala, Acholi and Ankole tomorrow, and on Wednesday, it will handle aspirants from Greater Masaka, Lango and Tooro.
On Thursday, the committee will vet aspirants for Greater Mpigi, Karamoja and Bunyoro, and Greater Mukono, Sebei, Teso and Rwenzori on Friday. On Saturday, they will handle Greater Mubende, Bugisu and Bukedi, and finalize with Greater Luweero and Busoga on Sunday.
Ssebuufu said that the vetting which kicks off in the morning is free of charge.
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