Miria Obote to run for UPC president
MIRIA Obote, the wife of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) late leader, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, is among the four candidates who have formally registered to vie for the party presidency.
By Geresom Musamali
and Charles Ariko
MIRIA Obote, the wife of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) late leader, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, is among the four candidates who have formally registered to vie for the party presidency.
The party president will also be the presidential candidate in the 2006 elections.
Miria will today contest against Samia Bugwe North MP Aggrey Awori, former UPC Presidential Policy Commission (PPC) vice-chairman Henry Mayega and Bukooli North MP Patrick Mwonda at the National Delegates’ conference at Christ the King hall in Kampala.
The National Council (NC) met on Saturday and directed the Constitutional Steering Committee (CSC) to hold the elections today and hand over power to a new team.
But former PPC chairman Dr. James Rwanyarare, who took Dr Obote to court over the appointment of the CSC, has said the NC meeting was illegal and his interim court order to halt the polls still holds.
“Everything was a fuss. CSC took over the NC meeting and stage-managed it instead of reporting to it. We tried to oppose them but they shouted us down. So I walked out and as far as I am concerned the court order still stands,†said Rwanyarare.
He said East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) member Yona Kanyomozi, Bushenyi party leader Edward Rurangaranga, Lira leader Yeko Bua and Karekyera from Kabale were also heckled.
“We wanted to take a vote but they refused because they knew we were going to out-vote them,†said Rwanyarare.
Rwanyarare said Lira Municipality MP Cecilia Ogwal and Makaria Asubo from Arua were locked out.
UPC interim general secretary and party lawyer Peter Walubiri, however, said last week that Ogwal does not qualify to be in the NC because she had only occupied the position as an appointed assistant secretary general of the party.
He said Ogwal was locked out because she lost her membership to the NC in 1996 when she was sacked by Obote for defying his orders not to contest for a parliamentary seat.
THE NC is composed of 191 members who were elected during the 1980 national delegates’ conference. Most of them are dead, too old, or have crossed to other parties, especially the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Only 36 members turned up for the NC.
Rwanyarare said even if the NC had taken legitimate decisions, it was not humanly possible to summon delegates from all over Uganda to convene in Kampala overnight for the delegates’ conference.
Walubiri said the NC thanked Obote for having improvised structures during the time when political parties were under the ban. He also thanked the CSC and the PPC for have having done commendable work.
and Charles Ariko
MIRIA Obote, the wife of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) late leader, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, is among the four candidates who have formally registered to vie for the party presidency.
The party president will also be the presidential candidate in the 2006 elections.
Miria will today contest against Samia Bugwe North MP Aggrey Awori, former UPC Presidential Policy Commission (PPC) vice-chairman Henry Mayega and Bukooli North MP Patrick Mwonda at the National Delegates’ conference at Christ the King hall in Kampala.
The National Council (NC) met on Saturday and directed the Constitutional Steering Committee (CSC) to hold the elections today and hand over power to a new team.
But former PPC chairman Dr. James Rwanyarare, who took Dr Obote to court over the appointment of the CSC, has said the NC meeting was illegal and his interim court order to halt the polls still holds.
“Everything was a fuss. CSC took over the NC meeting and stage-managed it instead of reporting to it. We tried to oppose them but they shouted us down. So I walked out and as far as I am concerned the court order still stands,†said Rwanyarare.
He said East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) member Yona Kanyomozi, Bushenyi party leader Edward Rurangaranga, Lira leader Yeko Bua and Karekyera from Kabale were also heckled.
“We wanted to take a vote but they refused because they knew we were going to out-vote them,†said Rwanyarare.
Rwanyarare said Lira Municipality MP Cecilia Ogwal and Makaria Asubo from Arua were locked out.
UPC interim general secretary and party lawyer Peter Walubiri, however, said last week that Ogwal does not qualify to be in the NC because she had only occupied the position as an appointed assistant secretary general of the party.
He said Ogwal was locked out because she lost her membership to the NC in 1996 when she was sacked by Obote for defying his orders not to contest for a parliamentary seat.
THE NC is composed of 191 members who were elected during the 1980 national delegates’ conference. Most of them are dead, too old, or have crossed to other parties, especially the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Only 36 members turned up for the NC.
Rwanyarare said even if the NC had taken legitimate decisions, it was not humanly possible to summon delegates from all over Uganda to convene in Kampala overnight for the delegates’ conference.
Walubiri said the NC thanked Obote for having improvised structures during the time when political parties were under the ban. He also thanked the CSC and the PPC for have having done commendable work.