By Carol Natukunda

A new poll shows that about 58% of FDC delegates would vote an individual as long as he or she is trusted, irrespective of the region they come from.

And it would also not matter whether the person is an MP or not. Most delegates would also look out for a person with good character, a charismatic leader and a good mobiliser.

The poll was conducted by Research World International (RWI) this month and released last week.

It shows that if the elections were held today, Muntu would score 49%, Mafabi 25% while the third contestant, Geoffrey Ekanya, would garner 3%.

Although 23% of the delegates are undecided on who to vote for, the poll suggests that the majority have already made up their minds.

Going by the personal traits the delegates are looking out for, Muntu might be the next FDC president, come November.

Having listened to the candidates during the campaigns which started about three months ago, 46% of the delegates say Muntu has shown more maturity and care for the party during campaigns, compared to only 14% for Mafabi.

An overwhelming 89% agree that it did not matter what religion or tribe one belongs to. Money or voter bribery was deemed inconsequential as an overwhelming 95.5% said they did not need to be given money to vote for a leader.

Those in favour of Muntu said he is calm, has good character and better leadership skills than his opponents.

Many also said his military background stood him in good stead compared to his rivals. On the other hand, Mafabi is credited for having a clean record, good character, mobilization skills and generally being hardworking and a good speaker.

But his major downfall was that he is not as calm and not a good listener like Muntu.

In fact, no respondent voted Mafabi on having vision, being a gentleman, disciplined, patient and principled.

Some said he does not know the history of the party very well. The RWI talked to 445 delegates by telephone out of the 900 delegates expected to vote on November 22, 2012.

Of the total respondents, 77% were male and 23% female. The poll results show that Muntu leads Mafabi across all four regions.

Muntu registered 42% support in the central region, 37% in the east, 63% in the north and 58% in western Uganda.

Mafabi, on the other hand, got 27% support in the central region, 34% in the east, 26% in the north and 13% in western Uganda.

Asked what they think would happen to the FDC party after elections, the majority (65%) expressed optimism that it would be stronger, while 23% thought it would be more united than ever before.

The rest thought the party would either be divided or weakened, while others simply said they did not know what would happen to the party.