Of us line up to procure ballotpapers at a polling internet page in Wakiso district, Uganda, on Jan. 15, 2026. (Photo by Mary Kansiime/Xinhua)
Brussels, Belgium | THE INDEPENDENT | The European Parliament has stepped up scrutiny of Uganda’s political path after the disputed January 15, 2026, elections, issuing a resolution condemning put up-election violence and expressing anguish over threats to opposition leaders and civil society actors. On the Delegation to the African–EU Parliamentary Assembly (DAFR) unheard of session in Brussels on Monday, chaired by Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans, lawmakers reaffirmed Uganda as a “key accomplice” in regional peace and security, but underscored that adherence to democratic solutions and human rights remains “non-negotiable.”
The controversy follows a February 12 resolution handed by an overwhelming majority, 514 votes in favour, three in opposition to, and 56 abstentions, expressing “serious concerns” over the habits and aftermath of Uganda’s 2026 polls. Uganda remains central to European strategic interests in East Africa.
It is one amongst the marvelous troop-contributing countries to the African Union peace reinforce mission in Somalia and hosts more than 1.5 million refugees, primarily from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in step with UN figures, making it Africa’s greatest refugee-internet hosting nation.
“Uganda is a extremely necessary accomplice for Europe by formulation of regional peace and security,” Vautmans suggested the committee. “On the identical time, our dedication to human rights and foremost freedoms is non-negotiable. We will no longer afraid away from hard conversations.”
EU lawmakers linked their engagement to the spirit of the Samoa Agreement, the put up-Cotonou framework guiding household contributors between the EU and African, Caribbean, and Pacific states, which emphasizes governance, accountability, and human rights. Acting remotely before the Parliament, opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, extensively identified as Bobi Wine and head of the National Cohesion Platform (NUP), alleged fashionable repression before, for the length of, and after the vote.
“What took place on the 15th of January was no longer an election. It was a defense pressure operation,” Kyagulanyi acknowledged, claiming that security forces raided his home days after the vote and that his household was assaulted. He described himself as “in hiding” attributable to ongoing threats.
Kyagulanyi accused the Electoral Commission, chaired by Justice Simon Byabakama, of failing to transparently post declaration of results varieties as required by regulations, arguing that generous tallies differed from info gathered by his occasion brokers. He acknowledged the opposition declined to scenario the results in courtroom on memoir of it had “no self belief” within the judiciary’s independence.
Uganda’s authorities thru the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, headed by Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, has repeatedly defended the credibility of its electoral processes, sustaining that vote casting was largely still and performed based thoroughly on nationwide regulations. The Electoral Commission beforehand said that results reflected the need of the of us and that correct avenues for redress remained open to aggrieved parties.
Moreover addressing lawmakers was Sarah Bireete, Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) and a regional election observer. She detailed her late-December arrest, alleging unlawful detention, denial of correct acquire true of entry to, confiscation of gadgets, and digital impersonation.
“I was profiled as a unhealthy person for promoting democracy and human rights,” she suggested the Parliament, arguing that the suspension of loads of governance-centered NGOs violated Uganda’s NGO Act and constitutional ensures.
Uganda’s Structure ensures rights to due job, correct illustration, and freedom of association. However, rights teams comprise lengthy raised concerns about stricken civic home, in particular for the length of electoral cycles. Responding to the resolution, European Exterior Action Service generous Jonas Jonsson reaffirmed that the EU had acknowledged the election results in a January 23 assertion whereas expressing remorse over put up-election violence and threats in opposition to opposition actors.
“Our observations acknowledged largely still vote casting, whereas highlighting concerns related to the political taking part in field, arrests of opposition actors, and restrictions affecting acquire true of entry to to info,” Jonsson acknowledged.
He emphasized that the EU would continue partaking both authorities and opposition, supporting governance reforms, civic training, and institutional strengthening. Uganda and the EU impress 50 years of diplomatic household contributors. “The EU remains a predictable and lengthy-term accomplice supporting Uganda’s democratic breeze thru dialogue, cooperation, and shared dedication to stability and inclusive governance,” he added.
Kyagulanyi entreated the EU to impose centered sanctions under instruments such as the EU World Human Rights Sanctions Regime, veritably known as the EU’s version of the World Magnitsky framework, in opposition to officers implicated in alleged abuses. “Centered sanctions develop no longer distress the nation; they set up it,” he argued, calling for visa bans and asset freezes in opposition to particular security and political leaders.
The European Parliament resolution in an identical diagram known as for just investigations into alleged human rights violations and for reviewing EU cooperation to make certain that alignment with democratic solutions.
However, any switch toward sanctions would require consensus amongst EU member states, a decision taken by the Council, no longer Parliament by myself, and would likely weigh broader geopolitical considerations, including Uganda’s regional security role.
The 2026 elections impress but another chapter in Uganda’s complex political evolution under President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in energy since 1986. Critics argue that constitutional amendments laying aside presidential age and term limits comprise entrenched incumbency advantages, whereas the authorities insists reforms were legally enacted and mirror parliamentary sovereignty.
For Brussels, the dilemma is balancing principled diplomacy with pragmatic engagement in a perilous express. As Vautmans concluded, “Accountability is a central belief of democracy. As companions, we are looking for to work together to give a enhance to the difficulty of the Ugandan inhabitants, but we can no longer make a contribution to the silencing of opposition.”
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www.just.co.ug, https://www.just.co.ug/ecu-parliament-confronts-uganda-over-2026-election-fallout/
