If the recently-concluded national polls are anything to go by, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has reason to smile after winning the political support of Soroti City for the first time.
Mr David Calvin Echodu, the NRM national vice chairperson for the eastern region, said the victory was historic.
Speaking as he received the presidential results from the EC tally centre in Soroti City, Echodu, whose team operates under the code name New Energy, said President Museveni’s win in Soroti City for the first time in 25 years was worth celebrating.
‘The president’s victory in this 2026 election in this urban area is so sweet. The NRM had never won Soroti City in the last 25 years. Today I am pleased that the people have buried the long hatred they harboured against the NRM by overwhelmingly voting for Museveni with 21,853 votes, with the runner up having a decimal 6,050 votes for Robert Ssentamu Kyangulanyi, and Nathan Nandala Mafabi having 3,250 votes,’ Mr Echodu said.
Mr Echodu said this is the start of the new chapter in the relationship between the people of Soroti City and the government.
Soroti was once a stronghold of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) before the emergence of the Reform Agenda in 2001, which later transformed into the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in 2006.
Since the National Resistance Movement (NRM) took power in 1986, the area has remained a major political headache that the NRM has struggled to overcome.
The long-held resentment against the NRM is rooted in the belief that the party played a role in the collapse of the cattle economy in Teso Sub-region.
This perception made it nearly impossible for the ruling party to win the support of the majority of voters in Soroti until the just-concluded elections.
Mr Echodu said as one of the elected NRM MPs, he will ensure that service delivery meets the expectations of city residents who have shifted their support to the NRM.
Echodu, the NRM flag bearer for Soroti City West, defeated FDC strongman Jonathan Ebwalu after polling 7,931 votes against Ebwalu’s 6,031 votes.
‘We managed to articulate to the people the achievements of the NRM government, sector by sector. We broke down the NRM manifesto for the next term sector by sector, and it is our ability as the grassroots mobilisers for the President that touched the souls of the people,’ he said.
Ms Teddy Acham, the national NRM presidential mobiliser, said the President had taken long to win Soroti because some individuals previously used NRM positions to fuel fights and divisions within the party, a situation she said has since been resolved. She added that prospects going forward will improve even further.