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Discussions are underway between three major political entities—the People's Front for Freedom (PFF), the National Unity Platform (NUP), and the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT)—to agree upon a joint presidential candidate for the upcoming 2026 general election.
The talks, which have been ongoing for some time, gained new impetus today, with an announcement from the PFF that it will not be fronting its own candidate in next year’s presidential elections.
The Search for a United Front
On Monday, Ibrahim Ssemujju, the spokesperson for the PFF, addressed a press conference to formalise the party's position.
“We shall not be fielding a presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2026 presidential election,” he announced.
Nganda said this was a strategic decision made in the "broader interest of building a single, stronger force."
The party, formed early this year, among others, jailed former presidential candidate Col Dr Kizza Besigye, hopes to eliminate duplicity and consolidate support behind a single, viable candidate who can lead the fight for freedom.
PFF signed a cooperation agreement with ANT IN July
Progress on the Cooperation Agreement
This commitment to unity is a direct follow-up to the cooperation agreement signed between the PFF and the Alliance for National Transformation on 2nd July 2025.
Following that accord, the PFF has engaged in at least two meetings with the National Unity Platform.
Ssemujju reported that these discussions have focused intensely on the "usually difficult topic of fielding a single candidate."
While the ANT has proposed a dual candidacy, with Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu (ANT) and Hon Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (NUP) being presented to the country as a united front, both the PFF and NUP have insisted on the need for a single, joint opposition candidate with broad appeal.
“The ANT believes that a coalition can be built around two presidential candidates: Maj Gen Gregory Mugisha Muntu (ANT) and Hon Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (NUP)...that these two candidates, with different appeals, can now be presented to the country as though they are one,” he said
“The NUP, on the other hand, strongly believes in a joint presidential candidate who has a wider appeal. Like NUP, the PFF also believes in a joint opposition presidential candidate who should lead the campaign for freedom. We therefore wish to report to the country that our discussions have progressed to this level”
The PFF spokesperson concluded by informing the public that the discussions have progressed to a point where the NUP requested a short break to finalise its internal vetting processes.
The dialogue will resume once NUP is ready to return to the negotiating table.
Ssemujju, in his statement, pointed to the continued disappearance and abduction of citizens and candidates, claiming that these actions are turning the 2026 election into a "military campaign."
The PFF believes that the forthcoming elections, which they say are designed by the Museveni family, will be the "worst in our history."
He argued that civil institutions, including the electoral commission, have been overrun by the military, rendering both the judiciary and parliament powerless.