Besigye, accept defeat and build party structures

By Amlan Tumusiime

Recently, I took part in NRM celebrations following the March 31 Supreme Court decision that dismissed an election petition against NRM's Yoweri Museveni victory in the February 18 presidential election.  

The celebrations at Kololo independence grounds attracted NRM supporters from 112 districts in Uganda. The joy, happiness and excitement of the NRM supporters during the event was a clear demonstration that majority of Ugandans voted for the ‘old man with a hat'. In fact, similar celebrations took place in various districts across the country.

Reports indicated that people engaged in all forms of merrymaking to celebrate their victory and are now only waiting the swearing-in of President Museveni on May 12.

It is against this background that I am writing this article to add my voice to many NRM supporters who have seen and heard Kizza Besigye and his FDC claiming victory and threatening to block the swearing-in of president Museveni.

For anyone who followed the presidential campaigns keenly, it is very clear that Museveni had the best message that won him over five million votes, representing over 60% of the total votes cast. Since 1996, when Uganda held the first election after the coming to power of NRM in 1986, Museveni has made himself a darling of many Ugandans and has been winning free and fairly. I am sure that Besigye is aware that Museveni is still loved and popular among majority Ugandans.

It is also clear that what makes Museveni popular is the better service his government continues to deliver to Ugandans in areas of health, agriculture, infrastructure, education and maintaining peace and security in the country. Actually, NRM as a party has built structures from the national level to the grassroots.

The 30-member NRM executive committees per village (60,000 villages) and others at the sub county and district levels are always a force to reckon with for Museveni even before he starts campaigning. It is surprising to hear Besigye claiming victory when actually he does not have strong party structures that can market FDC agenda at that grassroots. In my opinion, the absence of vibrant FDC party structures could be the reason why the party failed to field candidates for many elective positions, from sub county level to Parliamentary seats.

If one analysises critically the results of the 2016 general elections, it is clear that NRM won over 90% of the positions in local governments and over 70% of the parliamentary seats, not forgetting the NRM leaning independent MPs.

It is obvious that the voters who voted for the NRM candidates in local government positions and parliamentary seats also voted for Museveni, the NRM chairman. Therefore, it is puzzling to see Besigye insistently claiming that he won the elections. He should respect the Supreme Court ruling that upheld the declaration of the Electoral Commission that Museveni was duly elected. Instead, Besigye should now go back to the drawing board and examine the causes of his four losses since he started vying for presidency in 2001.

For long, Besigye has been advocating for the rule of law and bashing the Museveni government for breaking the laws it established. However, Besigye's actions during and after elections have exposed him as a law breaker. He has created and propagated the defiance campaign despite the April 29 Constitutional ruling that barred him, FDC and their supporters from engaging in the defiance crusade.

NRM had the potential to break his defiance demonstrations with force, but it opted for the legal option out of the political confusion he has created since losing the election for the fourth time in February. The same man has ignored the Constitutional Court order and vowed to go ahead with his defiance campaign. One may be forgiven to think Besigye is not interested in the presidency but fomenting chaos and depicting Uganda as ungovernable. He is more interested in marketing his brand at the expense of the party. But unfortunately, his followers do not seem to observe this. He is only lucky that president Museveni is tolerant because he would have dealt with him violently having defeated him at the ballot and in court. However, as a voter and Museveni's supporter, I feel insulted by Besigye for continuing to claim victory yet majority of the electorate did not vote him. He should let the swearing-in ceremony go on so that Ugandans enjoy more five years of steady progress.

The writer is political activist