Similar efforts were made by opposition parties to unite and support a single candidate for every position, from president to the lowest level, in the lead-up to the 2021 General Election.
As they work to end President Museveni’s four-decade rule, a number of opposition political parties held separate events yesterday to discuss a potential joint presidential candidate. The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Hotel Africana, with both wings planning to field a joint candidate in the 2026 presidential elections. Meanwhile, the Democratic Front (DF), led by Nyendo-Mukungwe lawmaker Mathias Mpuuga, which unites the Social Democratic Party of Mike Mabike and the People’s Development Party of Abed Bwanika, was based in Rubaga, Kampala. “Any political party would be foolish to enter the next elections by themselves and hope to overthrow Mr. Museveni and his goons. At their event yesterday, PFF President Mr. Erias Lukwago stated, “We need to come together and come out of our cocoons.”
In her remarks at the same event, Ms. Alice Alaso, the ANT’s national coordinator, reiterated the same message. “Go alone if you want to go faster, but go together if you want to go far,” she advised. Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, the president of the National Unity Platform (NUP), was invited to the same event in a letter signed by Ms. Alaso on July 1. However, the musician-turned-politician did not show up because he had a separate event at his party headquarters in Kavule, Kampala. The deputy spokesperson for the NUP party, Mr. Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, responded that they were unaware of the letter when asked why there had been no communication regarding it. “The President would have informed us of the same if he had received it. However, coalitions don’t have time restrictions, so we can join whenever we want. We support collaborating as a team to bring about change, and we have been advocating for this,” Mr. Mufumbiro stated.
Opposition parties made multiple attempts in the lead-up to the 2021 General Election to unite behind a single candidate for every position, from the presidency to the lowest level. Mr. Mpuuga, who was the vice president of the NUP party for the Buganda region before splitting from Bobi Wine’s party, stated at the DF event that his new party is ready to coordinate with all Opposition players and have a conversation in order to achieve a shared objective. We reaffirm as a party that we are ready and willing to collaborate with all of the forces bringing about change in this nation. Mr. Mpuuga declared, “We are prepared to listen and even receive advice.” “There are a lot of issues that we as the opposition must address together, and no platform or individual within the opposition should claim that they are prepared to handle it alone because that would be a false portrayal of the situation,” he continued.
If only one candidate runs against the NRM, it would be more deliberate for the opposition to gain more seats in the August House, even for MP positions. The NUP leadership has publicly voiced their displeasure with Mr. Mpuuga on multiple occasions, accusing him of disparaging the party from within while serving as the deputy president and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP). The legislator from Nyendo-Mukungwe has consistently refuted the accusations. The alleged “service award” of Shs500 million that Mr. Mpuuga and three other Parliament commissioners received while serving as LoP was the source of his animosity toward his former party. Mr. Mpuga was chastised by the NUP party leadership for taking the money, which they said was a bribe.
Cooperation
Any political party would be foolish to enter the next elections with the sole goal of overthrowing Mr. Museveni and his goons. Erias Lukwago, president of the People’s Front for Freedom party, said, “We need to come together and come out of our shells.”
NRM raises its voice
Plans for an opposition coalition were mocked yesterday by Ms. Hadijah Namyalo, national coordinator of the Office of the NRM National Chairman, who claimed that they were “the floating efforts of a group of disorganized politicians facing another defeat and the kicks of a dying horse.” “Those [Opposition] individuals are merely squandering time.” President Museveni’s achievements speak for themselves, and the NRM is a mass party,” Ms. Namyalo told Daily Monitor yesterday. For the past 40 years, the nation has been tranquil.
Because of President Museveni’s exceptional leadership, sound governance, peace, and security, Uganda is an island in the region,” she continued.
“We are not afraid of any opposition coalition,” she added. As we have always done, we will defeat them fairly. The NRM candidate is unmatched by any opposition candidate in Uganda. In many ways, President Museveni’s qualifications and background in public affairs management stand out.
