Who will be next MP for Lira Municipality?
Jan 16, 2006
LIRA Municipality is no doubt the hottest political chair in Lango. Previously, UPC’s Cecilia Ogwal and NRM’s Sam Engola battled for the seat three times: In 1993 for CA, and in 1996 and 2001 parliamentary polls. Now Jimmy Akena, the son of former President Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, has joined th
James Odong
LIRA Municipality is no doubt the hottest political chair in Lango. Previously, UPC’s Cecilia Ogwal and NRM’s Sam Engola battled for the seat three times: In 1993 for CA, and in 1996 and 2001 parliamentary polls. Now Jimmy Akena, the son of former President Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, has joined the race.
Voters are sharply divided over the likely outcome of the election. One group says that UPC votes will be equally divided between Ogwal and Akena, leaving Engola to sail through to the 8th Parliament. This is because Ogwal has been defeating Engola with a small margin of about 800 votes.
The second group, however, says that Akena’s entry is a disadvantage to Engola. They argue that those who have been voting for Engola were doing so in protest against Ogwal’s defiance of UPC presidential directive not to participate in politics during President Museveni’s rule, which led to her expulsion from the powerful position Assistant Secretary General of the party. Therefore, UPC supporters who voted for Engola for this reason are likely to go to Akena. leaving Engola with few votes.
“Ogwal will go back to Parliament because Akena’s group consists of the same people who have been supporting Engola. Engola’s votes will decrease, because UPC supporters who have been voting for him in protest against Cecilia, are now in Akena’s camp,†a voter said.
Some voters in Lira Municipality doubt Akena’s capacity to deliver as a politician because he has not been tested, unlike Ogwal who has gone through ‘political furnace’ in her struggle for the restoration of political pluralism in the country.
“Akena should have first started at district council level so that people can see his strength. Ogwal and her group struggled against all odds to return multiparty politics which we are now enjoying. Some of them were arrested and beaten. Now that the food is on the table, shouldn’t we allow them to test it? How can we reward them for their struggle by locking them out in a disgraceful way?†a district councillor asked. Having fallen out with Obote before his death, Ogwal and other prominent UPC supporters could not be the party’s candidates for parliamentary seats. This made way for Akena’s entry into the race but Ogwal vowed to fight on her own.
Will Engola take advantage of the ‘confusion’ in UPC? Will Ogwal continue her political hobby of beating Engola? Or will Akena successfully ride on his late father’s legacy and storm Parliament with a bang? These and others are some of the questions the voters are posing as we move closer to February 23.
The writer is a journalist
LIRA Municipality is no doubt the hottest political chair in Lango. Previously, UPC’s Cecilia Ogwal and NRM’s Sam Engola battled for the seat three times: In 1993 for CA, and in 1996 and 2001 parliamentary polls. Now Jimmy Akena, the son of former President Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, has joined the race.
Voters are sharply divided over the likely outcome of the election. One group says that UPC votes will be equally divided between Ogwal and Akena, leaving Engola to sail through to the 8th Parliament. This is because Ogwal has been defeating Engola with a small margin of about 800 votes.
The second group, however, says that Akena’s entry is a disadvantage to Engola. They argue that those who have been voting for Engola were doing so in protest against Ogwal’s defiance of UPC presidential directive not to participate in politics during President Museveni’s rule, which led to her expulsion from the powerful position Assistant Secretary General of the party. Therefore, UPC supporters who voted for Engola for this reason are likely to go to Akena. leaving Engola with few votes.
“Ogwal will go back to Parliament because Akena’s group consists of the same people who have been supporting Engola. Engola’s votes will decrease, because UPC supporters who have been voting for him in protest against Cecilia, are now in Akena’s camp,†a voter said.
Some voters in Lira Municipality doubt Akena’s capacity to deliver as a politician because he has not been tested, unlike Ogwal who has gone through ‘political furnace’ in her struggle for the restoration of political pluralism in the country.
“Akena should have first started at district council level so that people can see his strength. Ogwal and her group struggled against all odds to return multiparty politics which we are now enjoying. Some of them were arrested and beaten. Now that the food is on the table, shouldn’t we allow them to test it? How can we reward them for their struggle by locking them out in a disgraceful way?†a district councillor asked. Having fallen out with Obote before his death, Ogwal and other prominent UPC supporters could not be the party’s candidates for parliamentary seats. This made way for Akena’s entry into the race but Ogwal vowed to fight on her own.
Will Engola take advantage of the ‘confusion’ in UPC? Will Ogwal continue her political hobby of beating Engola? Or will Akena successfully ride on his late father’s legacy and storm Parliament with a bang? These and others are some of the questions the voters are posing as we move closer to February 23.
The writer is a journalist