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The National Resistance Movement (NRM) primary election to choose a flag bearer for the Adjumani West Constituency parliamentary byelection is underway today, Thursday, with voting taking place across 99 villages in four subcounties and one town council.
The electoral process started between 10:00 am and 11:00 am with verification of voters’ names in the NRM register. Although the exercise started late in some areas because of delays in voter turnout, voting was generally progressing peacefully.
Some candidates who spoke to Arua One FM expressed optimism about the process and commended the security personnel and the NRM for what they described as efforts to ensure transparency.
The primary is being held to choose the candidate who will carry the NRM flag in the Adjumani West Constituency byelection scheduled for September 17, 2026.
The parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of former legislator on the NRM ticket and former Second Deputy Prime Minister Gen. (rtd) Moses Ali on July 18, 2026, only a few months after his swearing-in to the 12th Parliament of Uganda.
The highly contested NRM primary has attracted seven hopefuls, including three former Adjumani district chairpersons.
The three former district chairpersons are Ben Anyama, who served from 2016 to 2026; James Leku Pili, who served from 2016 to 2021; and three-term pioneer chairman Nixon Owole, who first served from 1998 to 2002.
Owole was re-elected in 2002 and served until 2006 before returning to office in 2011 and serving until 2016.
The other candidates seeking the Movement flag are Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU)-endorsed candidate Daniel Izale, Richard Madrara Obuni, Justin Mawadri and Kassim Ali, a biological son of the late Gen. Ali.
Emmanuel Owole Drani, a political analyst in the district, said Thursday’s NRM primary would be closely followed and attract a high voter turnout.
Drani based his assessment on the high turnout during the voter verification exercise for the NRM election compared with previous elections.
He also said many voters who live outside the district were arriving in good numbers to take part in the election.
“From Monday, when the voter verification exercise began, people are turning up in big numbers. The talk in the Constituency now is to choose a new leader. Similarly, a good number of voters who live outside the district are arriving home to participate,” he said.
According to Drani, the race is tighter between two candidates, James Leku Pili and Ben Anyama, than any of the other five candidates.
He added that the other candidate likely to come close to the two or challenge them is PLU’s Daniel Izale.
“Out of the seven, one is to win, and from the look of things down here, the race is tighter between Pili and Anyama than any other candidate,” said Drani.
Drani noted that Pili’s strength lies in his long-standing friendship with the late Gen. Ali and their alleged discussions about possible succession after Pili allegedly agreed to step down to allow Gen Moses Ali to contest the 2026 elections.