Thousands of NRM supporters welcome President Yoweri Museveni as he arrived at Emokor Playgrounds at Bukedea district headquarters. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

BUKEDEA - President Yoweri Museveni is today (Wednesday) directly wooing voters in Teso region's Bukedea and Bugisu region's Sironko to back his 2026 re-election campaign.

He is wrapping up his campaign in Teso with the first rally of the day in the morning before heading to Sironko to mark the start of his vote-hunting trail across Bugisu, an area which used to be an opposition stronghold.

Bukedea has a population of 282,864 people scattered across 16 sub-counties/town councils, 152 parishes and 336 villages.

President Yoweri Museveni is wrapping up his campaign in Teso with the first rally of the day before heading to Sironko to mark the start of his vote-hunting trail across Bugisu, an area which used to be an opposition stronghold. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

In the 2021 General Election, Museveni, who is again standing on the National Resistance Movement party ticket, garnered 37,509 (64.2%) votes while his main rival, Robert Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform party polled 4,980 (8.5%).

Forum for Democratic Change party candidate Patrick Amuriat, who came third in that Presidential election and hails from Teso, polled 14,331 (24.47%) votes in Bukedea, which had 99,828 registered voters. Out of these, 61,724 (61.8%) voted.

In Sironko, there are 298,363 people scattered across 42 sub-counties/town councils, 224 parishes and 1543 villages.

Speaker Anitah Among gifted the president with three cows, thanking him for peace and security in the region.

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In the 2021 general election, Sironko had 132,465 registered voters. Out of these, 81,898 (61.8%) voted.

Museveni got 43,275 (52.8%) votes while Kyagulanyi garnered 28,900 (35.3%). The others polled 9,716 (11.9%).

The district now has a total of 155,799 registered voters, with 442 polling stations, up from 391 in 2021.

Museveni is campaigning for a seventh term under the theme: Protecting the Gains, Making a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status.

The theme focuses on safeguarding achievements in the last 39 years, such as peace and development, while aiming to propel Uganda to a high middle-income status. 

These achievements include ushering in an era of peace, fostering development, wealth creation initiatives, jobs, service delivery, markets, as well as unity and political stability. 

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Here is a picture highlight as the president arrived for his Bukedea rally, all photos by Eddie Ssejjoba;