UPC uncertain about its future

Jun 28, 2015

The party is yet to abate the lingering political crisis rocking it that was caused by rivalry between the outgoing party president Olara Otunnu and Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena.

Uganda People's Congress (UPC) risks going to the 2016 polls as a divided party if it does not put its house in order, writes Umaru Kashaka. 

As the 2016 general elections inch nearer, the spaces of Ugandan public discourse are beginning to fill with speculation as to the chances of various contestants, the possible alignments of political forces and likely outcomes.

However as this goes on, Uganda People's Congress (UPC), which enjoyed state power twice from 1962-1971 and 1980-1985, is still struggling to review its place in Ugandan politics and to find a leader with a recognised calibre in politics.

Otunnu VS Obote family

The party is yet to abate the lingering political crisis rocking it that was caused by rivalry between the outgoing party president Olara Otunnu and Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena.

This rivalry has polarised UPC and created disaffection among their supporters. Both camps have since March 2010 polls been accusing each other of weakening the party and have refused to bury the hatchet.

"This fight is over the control of UPC leadership by Otunnu and the Obote family. Unless this is addressed effectively, it may have dire consequences for the party in next year's elections," a UPC legislator, who sought anonymity, told Sunday Vision on Wednesday.

The MP prayed for a divine intervention to enable the two factions work together for the progress of the party.

In the 2010 polls, Akena miserably lost to Otunnu with 180 votes against the latter's 623 and observers interpreted Otunnu's victory as a triumph over allegations that he participated in the 1985 coup that overthrew Obote, an allegation he has always denied.

When Otunnu released a timetable of activities aimed at shaping the 2016 party political trajectory in April, many thought that would defuse the divisions at Uganda House, the party's headquarters.

This was largely because the race would be 'open' with no incumbent since Otunnu had indicated he would not seek reelection after his five-year term ended on March 13.

However, these activities which included holding district conference elections to choose the party president, further revealed internal conflicts in the party that are likely to affect its performance at the 2016 elections.

UPC has been performing poorly in the presidential elections since 2006 when it got 0.1 percent.

War of words

The party had, for instance, set aside July 10 as the date for holding the delegates' conference expected to approve the recent presidential election victory of Akena, but Otunnu last Monday threw a spanner in the works when he postponed it until further notice.

He named a four-man committee to investigate what he said were election-related irregularities in recent internal processes and the occupation of the party's offices by Akena's supporters.

Otunnu argued that in the prevailing situation of occupation, hostage-taking, violence, and the corruption of crucial documents and documentation at party headquarters, it was impossible to conduct party business and activities normally.

"This includes the proper planning and organisation of scheduled sessions of the national council and delegates' conference," he told reporters.

Asked about the future of UPC and its association with The Democratic Alliance, Otunnu told Sunday Vision that it would depend on the committee's findings.

The committee, chaired by Prof Patrick Rubaihayo, is expected to report its findings on July 10.

Akena defeated eight other contestants to the top seat after being endorsed by 67 districts and was subsequently announced by UPC's electoral commission as the party's 2016 presidential election sole candidate.

Otunnu's latest statements, however, were dismissed as "nonsense" by Akena and his group who argued that both the delegates' conference and the national council would have to be held as scheduled and they would not be derailed.

"We would like to announce that the UPC district conferences in an election organised by Otunnu elected their new leader unopposed and no amount of desperation from any quarters shall reverse their will," Patrick Mwondha, UPC's transitional committee chairman, said.

In the same vain, he added, the UPC delegates' conference scheduled for July 10 shall take place in Kampala as scheduled and we shall not be derailed.

Mwondha argues that Akena and his supporters have been "very patient and considerate".

"The national constitution  provides in article 103 (6) and (8), that in the presidential elections at the closure of nominations, if one candidate is nominated, that candidate should be declared winner of that election and he or she should assume office within 24 hours of nomination," he states.

He, therefore, says UPC constitution must conform to the national constitution where the above articles are operationalised automatically.

"In the case of UPC, Akena should have been sworn in within 24 hours from May 30 2015. We have not followed these provisions to the letter simply because we wanted a decent handover via the delegates conference," he said.

Akena, who is the son of Obote, opines that the future of UPC is in the party organs which he accuses Otunnu of not convening for five years contrary to the party constitution.

The constitution says at least one national council meeting should be held per year and two delegates conference meetings in five years.

Uncertainity

"Since he assumed office he has never held any of these meetings yet they are crucial as far as the progress of the party is concerned. They will help us chart a way forward for the party and see if we can work with The Democratic Alliance (TDA) or not," Akena said.

TDA aims at fielding joint candidates for the presidency and parliamentary elections in 2016, something they hope will give them an edge over the ruling NRM party.

While Otunnu represented UPC at TDA, he didn't append his signature to the protocol saying it will be endorsed by the national council of the party.

UPC's vice-president Joseph Bossa, who dismissed the recent vote as marred by irregularities and petitioned the party's electoral body, warned that the dramatic events unfolding at Uganda House would leave the party in "shambles because a lot of grassroot members feel they have been cheated".

Analysts say the party has to put its house in order to avert electoral doom.

"The party has been a nest of intrigue and this has messed it up. It doesn't sound well for Otunnu to call off a delegates' conference which has failed to hold for the last five years in has been in power," Prof. Sabiti Makara, a political scientist at Makerere University, opined.

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UPC uncertain about Democratic Alliance
 

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