Residents and voters of Ntungamo Central Cell in Central Ward, Ntungamo Municipality, have overwhelmingly re-elected Gordon Gumisiriza with 128 votes as their Local Council I after defeating the NRM candidate Herbert Ruhemba who got 3 votes for a third consecutive term, in a show of continued confidence in his leadership.
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Gumisiriza, who contested as an independent candidate, was returned to office after a campaign in which residents credited him with providing effective grassroots leadership and helping communities understand and interpret government programmes and policies.
His re-election comes as Uganda conducts the long-awaited Local Council I and II elections, giving voters at the grassroots an opportunity to choose leaders responsible for representing their immediate communities and linking residents with government structures.
The Electoral Commission conducted the election of LC1 chairpersons across 71,214 villages in the country where the position was contested and each village wi serve as a polling station, with voting conducted at a designated public or open place within the village and the scale of the exercise underlines the importance of the LC1 system in Uganda’s decentralised governance structure.
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For Ntungamo Central Cell, however, the election was less about national statistics and more about the confidence residents placed in a familiar local leader.
Residents who supported Gumisiriza said his experience and accessibility were among the factors that influenced their decision to return him to office and described him as a leader who has demonstrated an ability to engage with ordinary residents, explain government initiatives and help people understand programmes intended to improve household welfare and community development.
A graduate in Mass Communication, Gumisiriza brings to local politics a background that combines communication, business and media experience and before fully establishing himself in grassroots politics, Gumisiriza worked as a radio presenter which give him experience in public communication and community engagement.
His political journey dates back to 2016, when he entered elective politics on the ticket of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and over the years, he has remained active in serving the people of Ntungamo Central, eventually contesting and winning the LC1 chairpersonship as an independent candidate.
His latest victory therefore represents more than a routine local election result. It marks the continuation of a political journey that has moved from partisan politics to independent grassroots leadership, while maintaining a direct connection with the electorate at village level.
The 2026 LC1 elections also come after a prolonged period without fresh elections at the village and parish levels and the term of the LC1 and LC2 leaders elected in 2018 expired in 2023, and the elections were subsequently extended several times before the Electoral Commission announced a new electoral programme in 2026.
The delay had raised concerns about the democratic renewal of grassroots leadership and the need to give communities an opportunity to periodically assess and replace their local representatives.
Against this national backdrop, Gumisiriza’s third-term victory provides an example of how local elections can become a referendum on an individual’s record and relationship with the community.
Unlike national elections, where political parties and national policy debates can dominate the campaign, LC1 elections are often heavily influenced by a candidate’s personal reputation, accessibility and record of service.
For Gumisiriza, the third term now presents an opportunity to build on the confidence expressed by residents and to translate that mandate into tangible improvements in local governance and the challenge will be to ensure that the trust demonstrated at the ballot box is matched by continued accountability, inclusiveness and responsiveness to the needs of all residents, including those who may not have supported his candidacy.
