UPC to update district registers ahead 2021 elections

Uganda People's Congress (UPC) is set to update the party's district registers as they prepare to compete favourably in the 2021 general elections.

UPC said they want to put in place new structures to strengthen the party from the grassroots level so that the party can be well represented.

"During Olara Otunnu's tenure, UPC did not hold elections for UPC chairpersons in most parts of the country and yet we already had a new constitution of 2008 in place," Michael Osinde the party spokesperson said a weekly press brief at Uganda House in Kampala on Wednesday.

He added that unlike the 1970 UPC constitution that required rotation of district chairpersons amongst the district constituencies, the 2008 constitution requires district chairpersons to be elected.

"Most districts have been having self-proclaimed chairpersons who have never been elected through the party system. We have been having very many masqueraders and we are going to solve that," Osinde said

He revealed that all districts will be having elections to select leaders from parish, sub-county, constituency and district levels in preparation for the 2021 elections.

"This is what is going to occupy us prior to the coming elections and we shall only focus on creating structures for the party other than thinking of fielding one candidate as the other opposition parties propose," Osinde said.

He added that the party was already done with the roadmap and were only left with presenting it to the UPC national council for verification.

"The council will sit in July to approve the road map and after that is done, we shall proceed to implement our strategy of creating new structures," he said.

Osinde also questioned whether other opposition parties have structures from the grassroots level for them to compete favourably in the upcoming elections.

Collaboration with the opposition

Osinde said the proposal of collaborating with other parties and fielding one candidate is a good strategy for the opposition.

However, he added that for UPC to be a part of any collaboration, they will need to know all the details entailed in the collaboration with any party before it makes a decision.

He was responding to news that Democratic Party's Norbert Mao, former FDC president Mugisha Muntu and Robert Kyagulanyi were in talks to field one candidate.

"The most important thing for a party to focus on right now will be organising their parties from all levels in order for them to compete favourably," Osinde said.

The Nantaba saga

UPC also condemned the killing of Ronald Ssebulime saying the Police broke the law by shooting a person who was handcuffed.

"In Ugandan law, Police is supposed to arrest and give the suspect a right to a fair hearing. We have heard a lot in this matter and we do not know what is right or wrong," Osinde said

He added that the government should carry out thorough investigations to know what exactly led to Ssebulime's killing.

"Even when a person is escaping arrest at least they shoot his legs so that they can be captured and made answerable in the courts of the law," he said.

"Whenever we get problems we go to Police for assistance, but with such incidents happening, people will start getting scared of going to the Police," Osinde said.