President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed he will seek a seventh term in office in Uganda’s 2026 general election, a move that would extend his rule beyond four decades and further cement his place as one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

A senior official from the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party announced that Museveni will collect nomination forms this weekend for both party chairman and presidential flagbearer. The 80-year-old president has held power since 1986, following a military rebellion that toppled former leader Tito Okello.

Museveni’s announcement ends months of speculation and comes despite growing calls for political reform and generational change. Uganda has amended its constitution twice first to remove term limits in 2005, and again in 2017 to scrap age caps clearing the legal path for Museveni to continue his presidency indefinitely.

“President Museveni’s leadership remains vital to the stability and progress of our nation,” the NRM official said, while critics accused the regime of authoritarianism and electoral manipulation.

Museveni’s main challenger remains Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, a popular opposition figure and former musician who contested the 2021 election and has signaled plans to run again. His campaign faced widespread suppression, and the election results were widely disputed.

Museveni, however, maintains that his continued leadership reflects popular will, not political coercion. “It is the people who demand continuity, not me,” he said in a recent statement.

The 2026 election is expected to be one of Uganda’s most closely watched, both domestically and internationally, amid concerns over democratic backsliding and the shrinking political space for opposition voices.