The man in tight NRM race to replace Moses Ali

• NRM ticket: James Pilli Leku won with 9,336 votes, or 37.2 per cent.

• Close race: He defeated Ben Anyama by only 184 votes.

• Moses Ali succession: The by-election follows Gen Moses Ali's death on July 18, 2026.

• Polling date: Adjumani West voters will elect their new MP on September 17, 2026.

James Pilli Leku has won the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket for the Adjumani West parliamentary by-election, putting him in pole position to succeed the late Gen Moses Ali.

Leku polled 9,336 votes, representing 37.2 per cent of the 25,130 votes cast in the NRM primary held on September 3, 2026.

He edged Ben Anyama by just 184 votes in a tight race. Anyama received 9,152 votes, or 36.4 per cent, according to results declared by the NRM Electoral Commission.

Daniel Izale finished third with 3,923 votes, representing 15.6 per cent, while Justine Mawadri received 1,424 votes, or 5.7 per cent.

Richard Madrara Obuni polled 915 votes, Nixon Owole got 284, while Ali Kassim finished with 96 votes.

Adjumani NRM District Elections Officer Amos Chandmale declared Leku the party flag bearer on Thursday evening.

The result clears the first major hurdle in the race to replace Gen Ali, one of Uganda's longest-serving politicians and a dominant political figure in West Nile.

Gen Ali died at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala on July 18, 2026, aged 87, leaving the Adjumani West seat vacant.

His death triggered a by-election barely months after he retained the constituency in the 2026 General Election.

The Electoral Commission has set September 17, 2026, as polling day for the by-election. Candidates are expected to be nominated on September 7 and 8.

Leku will now seek to keep the constituency in NRM hands as voters choose their first new representative since Gen Ali's death.

The contest also carries political weight because of Ali's long influence in Adjumani and the wider West Nile region. He represented the area for years and served in several senior government positions, including Deputy Prime Minister.

His family stayed out of the battle for his succession. In August, the family said it had not endorsed any candidate and urged residents to choose their next MP based on their own judgement.