Winifred Nakandi drops out of NUP Kampala Woman MP race amid irregularities

• Winifred Nakandi withdraws from NUP Kampala Woman MP race, citing biased vetting and lack of transparency.
• Her exit sharpens the contest between Shamim Malende and Zaharah Luyirika, the two frontrunners.
• The withdrawal fuels criticism of NUP’s internal election management and its independence.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) race for Kampala Woman Member of Parliament has taken a dramatic twist following aspirant, Winifred Nakandi dropping out as she cited irregularities in the party’s vetting process.

Via a press release through social media Nakandi said the past days have been riddled with complaints about “biased selection of candidates, influence peddling, and ringfencing of positions.”

She further noted that many of these concerns were ignored.

“The most common among these were biased selection of candidates, influence peddling, and ringfencing of positions,”* she wrote.

Nakandi’s exit now leaves the spotlight firmly on the two favorites, Zaharah Luyirika, the current Speaker of the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA), and Shamim Malende, the incumbent Kampala Woman MP.

The duo are viewed as frontrunners for the party’s flag, with the contest expected to be heated given their strong bases in Kampala politics as well as the party hierarchy.

Besides, her resignation also adds fuel to accusations that NUP’s internal election management has lacked transparency.

“The results and subsequent contestation of local government flag bearers point to the bigger problem that is the Election Management Committee and its independence, or lack thereof,”* Nakandi stressed.

Nakandi nonetheless, left the door open for a return in the future.

“In future, when the process of choosing party flag bearers is better streamlined and more transparent, I will be glad to compete,”* she assured her supporters.

With Nakandi out, the race is undoubtedly set to intensify between Malende and Luyirika as NUP grapples with growing criticism over its vetting system. The party is expected to announce the flag bearer in a few days from now.