President Yoweri Museveni has warned that the increasing number of independent candidates emerging from the National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries poses a serious threat to the party’s chances in the 2026 general elections.

Speaking mid-week to journalists in Busoga, where he is currently campaigning in the sub-region, Museveni cautioned NRM members who lost in the primaries against returning to the race as independents, saying their actions divide the party’s support base.

“Independents who failed in the NRM primaries—if you stand in a constituency where there is opposition, you are splitting our votes and confusing our voters. Do not donate those constituencies to the opposition,” Museveni stressed.

His remarks come as the ruling party grapples with the fallout from disputed primaries that have produced a surge of independent aspirants seeking parliamentary and district positions. The internal conflicts have become one of the NRM’s biggest challenges ahead of the 2026 elections, raising fears of repeating past scenarios where split votes cost the party key seats.

Adding to the concern, NRM Deputy Secretary General Rosemary Namayanja also sounded the alarm, saying the growing number of independents greatly complicates the party’s chances of securing victory in tight races.

She noted that while many grievances arose from the primaries, the solution cannot be “fragmentation that weakens the party.”

The NRM Secretariat has indicated that reconciliation efforts are ongoing, with the party leadership urging disgruntled members to align behind officially endorsed flag bearers.

Museveni has intensified calls for unity within the party, insisting that internal cohesion is the only way to safeguard NRM dominance in the 2026 polls.