NUP Undecided on Flagbearer for Arua Central Division

With only two weeks left to the parliamentary nominations, the National Unity Platform (NUP) is still undecided on its flagbearer for the Arua City Central Division parliamentary seat ahead of the 2025/2026 General Election.

The Electoral Commission has scheduled October 22 and 23, 2025, as the nomination dates for parliamentary candidates, during which political parties are expected to present their official flagbearers alongside independent aspirants.

However, NUP has not yet announced its flagbearer for Arua Central Division. The contest is between Asega Habib Jogoo, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), and Obindu Jackson, a former NRM Northern Uganda Youth MP contestant, both of whom underwent vetting but whose results are yet to be made public. 

The West Nile Regional Administrator of NUP, Ramandhan Dida Abdulhanan, said the party’s election management committee has not communicated the vetting outcome, adding that they are still waiting for feedback to guide their planning.

On September 30, 2025, NUP released the official list of its approved parliamentary flagbearers for Northern Uganda but left the Arua Central Division slot vacant, marked for re-evaluation. 

According to party guidelines, a candidate must score 60% based on ground support from voters and 40% from the vetting questionnaire administered by the election management committee to qualify as a flagbearer. 

Jackson Obindu, one of the vetted aspirants, expressed disappointment with the vetting process, accusing the committee of bias and hidden interests that have delayed his declaration as the party flagbearer.

Similarly, Habib Jogoo Asega, who was also vetted for the position, claimed there were internal plans to deny him the flag in favor of his rival, attributing this to his strong influence and popularity in the region.

The NUP national leadership was not available for comment on the allegations raised by the two aspirants or to provide an update on the vetting process for the Arua Central Division parliamentary seat by the time of publishing this story. The party has, however, already filled parliamentary positions in other West Nile districts, Northern Uganda, and across other regions of the country.