Why Uganda’s election has East Africa on edge

A campaign caravan of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni drives along a street in Kampala on January 13, 2026.

Photo credit: Reuters

Uganda’s election this Thursday may be a domestic affair. But its outcome will reverberate across the region.

As eight candidates contest the presidency, including incumbent Yoweri Museveni, East Africa is bracing for spillover effects that could range from disruptions along the Mombasa–Kampala trade corridor to shifts in Uganda–Tanzania gold exports, as well as security cooperation extending into South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).