Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party - courtesy

Kampala, Uganda (Eye Radio) — Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has been cleared by the country’s Electoral Commission to run in the presidential election scheduled for January 2026.

The clearance comes just a week after his initial submission was rejected.

Wine, who finished runner-up in the 2021 election, has consistently rejected the results, citing ballot-stuffing, intimidation, and voter bribery.

In that contest, Wine secured 35% of the vote, while President Yoweri Museveni won with 58%—his lowest margin of victory since taking power in 1986.

With the clearance, Museveni, 81, will seek another term that could extend his rule to nearly half a century.

Following the confirmation of his candidacy, Wine, a former pop star who brands himself the “Ghetto President,” stated that he speaks for Uganda’s youth, the unemployed, and the working poor.

“We are fighting for a better Uganda—for farmers, for graduates without jobs, for the ghetto youth whose future is being stolen,” he said.

Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) has long accused government authorities of abducting, illegally detaining, and torturing its supporters. While government officials deny systematic abuses, dozens of NUP members remain in prison on what the party claims are politically motivated charges.