Partyists Suspend Plan On Caucus

By John Kakande THE multiparty MPs have put on hold their plan to form a caucus, saying they do not want to repeat a mistake the multipartyists made in the Constituent Assembly. Samia Bugwe North MP Aggrey Awori, told The New Vision yesterday that formation of the multiparty parliamentary caucus had been postponed until President Museveni announces a new Cabinet. "Amongst us multipartyists, two or three are possible candidates for the Cabinet. We do not want to prejudice their chances," Awori said. He said they also wanted to first study the situation and formulate a strategy. The multiparty MPs were to meet last Thursday to discuss formation of a caucus. But the meeting, which was organised by Awori and Michael Mabikke (Makindye East) was postponed. "We do not want to repeat the 1995 mistake when we formed the multiparty caucus (National Convention for Democracy) too early. It made the Movement to solidify," Awori said. Some multipartyists in Parliament are suspicious about Awori's intentions and oppose his leadership of the caucus. Some multiparty MPs suspect that Awori has 'connections' with State House. Awori said he would only assume leadership of the caucus if the members asked him to do so. He said there were detractors trying to divide multipartyists. Awori yesterday denied any State House connections. "Who has been more critical of State House than me? Why did I stand against Museveni?" Awori asked. He refuted accusations that he was a spoiler in the presidential race, saying that Col. Kizza Besigye joined the presidential race later than him. Speaking to The New Vision recently, Omara Atubo (Otuke) warned his colleagues that the proposed caucus "should not be used for the fulfilment of personal ambitions." He said they should be careful to avoid dividing the multiparty MPs. Ends