More women are stepping up the political podium to battle men for the directly elected parliamentary seats across the country in the 2026 parliamentary elections.
Preliminary data from the Electoral Commission (EC), based on the nomination report for the January 15, 2026 polls lists 128 women racing against men for direct election as Members of Parliament (MPs).
In the 2021 election, only 88 women contested for direct constituency seats to join the 11th Parliament, implying the number has gone up by 40 more contestants.
Similarly, 640 will battle it out for the District Woman representative seats across the country, up from 638 who contested for seats in the 2021 election.
This means only two more are stepping up to run for the 146 women-only MP seats in the 2026 polls. It remains unclear whether the increasing number of women running for direct parliamentary seats will transition into more women representation in the 12th Parliament.
The 11th Parliament has 529 MPs, with 189 being women and include 146 for District Woman seats, 16 for directly elected constituency seats, three for the Army, two for Workers, two for Female Youth, three for People Living with Disabilities, and three for the Elderly.
The Parliament also has 14 Ex-officio members, who include the Vice President and non-elected ministers, without any voting rights in Parliament.
A 2021 report by the African Women in Media says while Uganda’s Parliament has had an increase in the number of women in Parliament, this has only been possible through the increase in the number of districts, rather than through direct representation.
Uganda ranks 37 out of 193 countries in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s list, with the report saying its numbers in women representation had stagnated.
Correspondingly, the 2023 Equal Opportunities Commission report also says Ugandan women and other special interest groups have continued to struggle to win directly elected seats in various elective positions for nearly four decades now since the ruling NRM party took over power in 1986.
An analysis of data from the EC shows the majority of the women who are battling it out with men are running on independent tickets. Of the 128 women tussling it out with men, 53 are contesting on an independent ticket, followed by the ruling NRM party with 26 contenders.
Both the National Unity Platform (NUP) party and People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) have fielded nine candidates each, while the Democratic Front (DF), and Democratic Party (DP) each have eight.
The Ecological Party of Uganda has four, Alliance for National Transformation (3), Forum for Democratic Change and UPC each have two, with JEEMA, NEED, NPP, and PPP fielding one each.
Share of women contestants
Kampala has the biggest concentration of women contesting for directly elected MP seats with 19 women, followed by Wakiso with 13, and seven each for Kamuli and Mukono districts.
Some of the big names nominated include Kabanda Minsa Nabbengo for Kampala Central MP seat; Amelia Kyambade for Mawokota County North, who is attempting to wrest the seat back; Bakireke Nambooze Betty of Mukono Municipality; Nyakecho Annet Okwenye for Tororo North County; Kamateneti Ingrid Turinawe in Rukungiri Municipality; Doreen Nyanjura of Mwenge Central County; Santa Okot of Aruu North County; and Milly Babalanda Nabirye of Budiope West County.
The new entrants include Lenia Charity Kevin, who is battling five men including four who all lost to her during the NRM party primaries, and an FDC candidate for the directly elected MP seat for Vurra County, Arua District.
Others are Harriet Ntabazi of Bwamba County in Bundibugyo District; Dorcus Ainomugisha of Igara County East in Bushenyi District; Maria Nnatabi Ledochowska of Butembe County in Jinja District; and Carolyn Birungi Nanyondo of Kyamuswa County in Kalangala District.
Also up against the men are Chekamondo Rukiya Kulany in Kapchorwa Municipality in Kapchorwa District; Amoriot Margaret Grace Khedi for Kumi Municipality; and Akello Christine Ogwang Gwok Adako of Erute County North.
The odds against women in politics
The 2024 National Population and Housing Census report shows that out of the 45.9 million Ugandans, 24.3 million are women, representing 53 percent while 21.6 are males, representing 47 percent. While women outnumbered men, this has not translated into more representation.
A report by the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) indicates that women in politics often encounter unique challenges, including, gender-based violence and intimidation.
‘Negative cultural norms – society often discourages women from seeking leadership roles. Balancing family and politics – Women are expected to juggle domestic responsibilities with their campaigns,’ the report says.
FOWODE says to overcome these barriers, women contesting for political positions need to build community support and consistently engage with local initiatives to earn trust and demonstrate commitment, overcome cultural norms and maintain a transparent campaign and address any negative rumours or attacks head-on.
FOWODE says the 2026 General Election offers an opportunity to reflect on women’s political participation and progress toward gender parity in key decision-making processes.
It says while women currently make up 33.8 percent of the 11th Parliament, only 7.4 percent of these women hold direct seats, highlighting ongoing challenges despite Uganda’s affirmative action policies.
The organisation says although there has been notable progress at the national level, with women representing 45 percent of Cabinet Ministers, and 48 percent of Ministers of State, barriers persist, often preventing women from strategically engaging in decision-making processes that centre on women’s needs and inclusive development.
As Uganda’s 2026 General Election approach, the report says women considering running for office must be well-prepared to navigate the treacherous political landscape.
Women versus men in Cabinet
The State of Equal Opportunities Report in Uganda for 2022/2023 says while the number of women in Uganda’s elective positions has continued to increase over the years, it has mainly been through affirmative action.
The report says the curve for directly elected representatives has remained in favour of men who dominate the numbers.
The report says the figures of women’s representation in Parliament represent the minimum recommended target of 30 percent composition of women in positions of decision-making levels, which is in line with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to which Uganda is a state party.
‘This shows that Uganda is making positive strides concerning the inclusion of women in representation at higher political positions,’ report says.
Looking at the trends in the composition of women in the Cabinet positions over the four terms since Uganda adopted multi party democracy shows an increasing trend.
In the 2006 to 2011 term, Uganda had 10 female Cabinet ministers, while 58 positions were occupied by men.
From 2011 to 2016, the number increased to 21 females, while the number of men reduced to 52, and in the period between 2016 and 2021, the number of female Cabinet members went up to 23, and that of men also shot up to 57 due to an increase in the number of Cabinet positions.
From 2021 to 2025, women were given 15 more Cabinet slots, raising the number to 38, while that of men was reduced from 57 in the previous Cabinet to 45 in the current term.
The report says participation of women in politics has always been a process burdened with patriarchal tendencies that have marginalised women.
Woman MPs over the years
The report also says in the eighth Parliament, there were 76 female MPs, with 69 on District Woman MP seats, while seven were directly elected. The number rose to 130 in the 9th Parliament, with 113 on affirmative action, while 16 were directly elected.
In the 10th Parliament, the numbers rose to 141, with 111 on an affirmative ticket while 30 were directly elected.
The 11th Parliament had 188 women, with 174 on affirmative action, while the number of directly elected members plummeted to 14. Throughout the period, the number of male MPs also increased from 233 in the eighth Parliament to the current 368 in the 11th Parliament.
The report says despite the fact that the proportion of women MPs in the 11th Parliament is low and standing at 33.8 percent, it’s slightly above the 30 percent target set during the Beijing Platform for Action.
Global outlook
Across the continent, Rwanda has the highest representation of women in parliament, with 49 out of 80 representatives being women, representing 61.3 percent. They are followed by South Africa with 185 out of 400 MPs, representing 46.3 percent.
Senegal has 46.1 percent of the female MPs, Namibia 44.2 percent, and Mozambique 43.2 while Uganda has 33.8 percent of the slots occupied by women. Globally, Uganda ranks 49 out of 195 countries and is described as faring quite well about women representation in Parliament.
‘Fair women representation in Parliament helps to promote issues of women, strengthen the advocacy skills of women leaders to curb corruption, improve policy outcomes, and promote the inclusiveness of minority groups in public spheres,’ the report says.
But the report admits that while progress is being made, Uganda is still slightly behind the African countries with the highest female representation, like Rwanda (61.3 percent), South Africa (46.3 percent), and Senegal (46.1 percent), Namibia (44.2 percent), and Mozambique (43.2 percent).
The report says women competing for elective positions in the country face numerous challenges, including discrimination or cultural beliefs that limit their participation in politics in society, balancing private, family, and political life, commercialisation of politics, gaining support from political parties, and securing campaign funding.
‘Sometimes, they face harassment and intimidation. Some women may even be discouraged from running for office, hence leaving men in the positions of power,’ the report says.
‘Whilst the Commission applauds the government for introducing affirmative action policies that have seen women’s representation at different levels improve, more needs to be done to match the neighbouring African countries. This change is possible if political commitment, mindset change, and adequate legal and policy frameworks are put in place to provide an equal ground for participation of both women and men,’ the report adds.