Kampala — Ann Ruyondo Lumumba has been elected the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer for chairperson of the National Women’s Council after defeating incumbent Farida Kibowa in the party’s primaries.
Ruyondo secured 109 votes against Kibowa’s 25 votes in the election conducted on Wednesday by the NRM Electoral Commission.
The results position Ruyondo as the party’s candidate for the chairperson’s position in the upcoming national elections scheduled for Friday.
In the other positions, Agnes Kirabo was elected NRM flag bearer for vice chairperson after polling 81 votes, defeating Janipher Kengaju Akiiki, who received 32 votes, and Sheebah Nagudi Muloni, who polled three.
Hope Nakunda was elected flag bearer for Secretary for Finance, while Among Shakila Mwenyi emerged as the party’s candidate for Secretary for Publicity.
NRM Electoral Commission Chairman Dr Tanga Odoi, who presided over the exercise, commended the delegates for maintaining discipline during the primaries.
“I am happy that we have at last chosen leaders of your choice who will represent the NRM in the Friday national elections,” Odoi said.
He pledged the party’s support for the successful candidates as they head into the national elections.
“The NRM party will with its full force back our ticket holders at the national level to ensure we defeat the opposition candidates and the independents,” Tanga said.
The results come as the NRM prepares for its National Conference scheduled for September 3–4, where party leaders and delegates are expected to consolidate preparations for the wider elections.
The party congratulated the newly elected flag bearers while thanking all candidates who participated in the primaries.
The NRM said the participation of the candidates had strengthened its internal democratic processes and urged members to remain united after the contest.
“In NRM, we compete as family and unite for victory,” the party said, calling on members to close ranks, mobilise supporters and work towards victory in the national elections.
NRM Women’s League Chairperson Hon. Adrine Kobusigye also congratulated the successful candidates and pledged support for the new team.
Kobusigye urged those who lost in the primaries to accept the results and support the party flag bearers rather than contesting as independents.
“I hope everyone is satisfied with the process and therefore nobody will come out to contest as independent or even sponsor one. Let us remain united and mobilise to pull off the final win on Friday,” Kobusigye said.
She warned that candidates who participated in the party process but later sought to run independently could undermine the unity of the women’s wing.
“It will be a shame for someone who went through all this process to vie for independents,” she added.
Ruyondo’s victory now brings an end to Kibowa’s bid for another term as the NRM’s preferred candidate for the National Women’s Council chairperson position.
The successful candidates will now enter the final stage of the electoral process, with the party leadership seeking to transform the primary victories into a unified campaign ahead of Friday’s national elections.
The contest also places the new leadership team at the centre of the NRM’s efforts to mobilise women from the grassroots to the national level.
The party has urged its women leaders and members to put the internal contests behind them and focus on the national vote.