NRM National Vice Chairperson for Eastern Uganda, Calvin Echodu, has expressed confidence that the party’s new structure-based campaign strategy will deliver overwhelming success for President Yoweri Museveni and NRM candidates in the 2026 elections.
Speaking to journalists on Friday moments after President Museveni concluded his tour of the Busoga sub-region and the wider Eastern Uganda, Echodu said the crowds witnessed across the region were a clear reflection of a “fully awakened and energised party machinery.”
Echodu noted that for the first time in several electoral cycles, NRM has deliberately activated its grassroots structures—from the villages up to the district level—creating a coordinated mobilisation wave that is translating into real numbers on the ground.
“These numbers are real. They are coming from the villages, mobilised through party structures. Opponents should be worried because NRM is heading for a big win,” he said.
He praised the Secretariat and party leadership for organising a seamless campaign trail, adding that the President’s message—centred on the seven Matafali (pillars)—was well received across Teso, Bugisu, Sebei, Bukedi and Busoga.
According to Echodu, the next phase of the campaign will focus on parish-based mobilisation, which kicks off next week. The approach will involve taking the President’s message directly to parish structures to ensure that the massive turnouts at rallies translate into actual votes.
“The parish-level campaign is now the priority. With village structures activated—about 63 members per village—each mobilising just three people, the impact is going to be massive,” he explained.
Echodu also said the party had learned from the setbacks of 2021, particularly in Busoga, where Museveni lost ground for the first time. He revealed that internal contradictions had largely been resolved, with many independents stepping down to support NRM flag bearers.
He further dismissed concerns about tensions between some senior Busoga leaders, describing them as “normal disagreements in a big family,” but emphasised that both leaders were loyal cadres now united behind the common goal of delivering victory for NRM.
“We are seeing leaders who were not talking now working together to get votes for the President. The bigger goal has brought everyone together,” he said.
Echodu thanked the media, cultural and religious leaders, and the entire NRM fraternity for supporting the President’s campaign, urging them to sustain the mobilisation effort to the parish level.
President Museveni concluded his Eastern Uganda campaign tour on Friday, with the NRM projecting strong gains across the region under the structure-led campaign model.
