The Forum for Democratic Change has announced that whoever would like to contest for the party’s presidential flag bearer position will have to cough up Shs 5 million. Parliamentary hopefuls, on the other hand, will have to part with Shs 100,000.

All this was revealed as the party announced its roadmap at their headquarters in Najjanankumbi ahead of the 2026 general elections.

Presidential candidates are expected to pick nomination papers on 30th April and 1st May, while they will be nominated on 5th and 6th August.

They will then hold campaigns between Monday, 19th May and Tuesday, 29th July 2025, and then a Delegates Conference on 31st July, where they will announce the successful presidential candidate.

Despite the fact that in 2021 the nomination forms for parliamentary hopefuls were free, the Party Chief Electoral Commissioner, Boniface Toterebuka Bamwenda, still insists that the choice of the amount of nomination fees is based on the need to make the party leadership positions accessible to many people.

“The position of Member of Parliament is seen by many as a lucrative position, but that doesn’t mean we hike the nomination fees. The small fee is just meant to cover a few administrative costs,” Toterebuka noted.

The nomination of Members of Parliament, LC5 Chairpersons, and Municipality Mayors runs from 9th June to 10th June 2025, while party primaries at all levels are slated for a period between 26th June and 5th July 2025.

Petition hearing and handling for primaries will then run during the period between 11th July and 20th July 2025.