NRM vows to eliminate independents
Oct 03, 2010
THE ruling NRM party will not allow candidates who lost in the party primaries to contest as independents under its flag, the national vice-chairperson, Al-hajji Moses Kigongo, has warned.
By JAckie Nambogga
THE ruling NRM party will not allow candidates who lost in the party primaries to contest as independents under its flag, the national vice-chairperson, Al-hajji Moses Kigongo, has warned.
“There were some irregularities in the party primaries but we shall not accept people who lost in the exercise to contest as independents, we shall make sure that we fight you,†said Kigongo adding that they will also bar them from the party for 20 years as per the NRM constitution.
The NRM national conference meeting at Namboole in June amended the party Constitution with the adoption of universal adult suffrage instead of electoral colleges in electing flag-bearers.
It was intended to cure members standing as independents on account of rigged primaries. Instead the adult suffrage primaries conducted last months were dogged by even more irregularities forcing many losers to declare that the would stand as independents.
Kigongo was addressing a meeting of NRM district chairpersons, party district registrars and their deputies, the party administrative secretaries, DISOs, DPCs and RDCs from the Busoga region at YMCA complex on Friday.
When he made his pronouncement on the stance towards independents, some NRM leaders who lost in the party primaries booed him.
The interactive meeting was aimed at getting views concerning the election malpractices that marred the party primaries. Kigongo tried to impress it upon members that in politics there are winners and losers.
“Even if you contest six people, we shall at the end of the game want one person and others shall have to lose, but we should win and lose in a fair way,†Kigongo counselled.
“It is self defeating for someone who contested in the primaries and wants to turn around and vie as an independent. You must forget it. Our NRM constitution is very clear and it does not allow those who failed in the primaries to come as independents,†he added.
He noted that some losers are ill advised by their agents because they want to continue milking them when they know the fact that they have no potential of winning the polls.
“Some of your agents are misleading you. They are after making money out of you for survival without telling you the truth that you have no support, save your money and wait for another time,†Kigongo advised.
Moses Kalangwa, the Jinja municipality NRM chairperson who also lost to Majid Batambuze for the Jinja mayoral seat, accused the district administrative secretary Michael Kasedde for messing up the polls.
Kalangwa, who also accused the Jinja deputy RDC Apollo Bwebale of taking sides in the primaries, said that Kasedde was given a line-up of candidates whom he would declare as winners.
However, the Jinja NRM Boss Moses Balyeku rebutted Kalangwa’s accusations and advised him not to make unsubstantiated allegations. Balyeku also pointed an accusing finger at Julius Zziwa, the party secretary general in the municipality for leading a gang that locked up the party offices.
“They think that when they are secretary generals they are governors, sensitization is needed which the party should consider,†Balyeku said.Â
Kigongo who said that they are aware of the security operatives who misbehaved in the exercise stressed the need to sensitize members as most of them acted ignorantly.
During the meeting that was also attended by MPs and LC5 chairpersons and aspirants who won and those who lost, Kigongo criticized some leaders who are going ahead to declare themselves as winners after losing saying that this is unacceptable.
Last week, state minister for lands Asumani Kiyingi who lost to Moses Kibbalya, a marketing manager at Nile breweries declared himself as the winner of the Bugabula South.
Kigongo stressed the party is bigger than individuals and should be given priority.
“Some of you are self seekers, you are just fighting for yourselves instead of fighting for the party. You will kill the party,†Kigongo added.
However, councilor Florence Biruma who lost to Fredrick Gume in the Jinja LC5 primaries argued that one may have a party card but with no support on that ground.
In an interview with The New Vision, Biruma said that Kigongo’s warning was not timely since their petitions had not yet been handled.
She advised him to weigh NRM aspirants’ support instead of blocking those seeking to contest as independents. Participants mainly the incumbents blamed presiding officers, RDCs and their opponents for the rigging that characterized.
THE ruling NRM party will not allow candidates who lost in the party primaries to contest as independents under its flag, the national vice-chairperson, Al-hajji Moses Kigongo, has warned.
“There were some irregularities in the party primaries but we shall not accept people who lost in the exercise to contest as independents, we shall make sure that we fight you,†said Kigongo adding that they will also bar them from the party for 20 years as per the NRM constitution.
The NRM national conference meeting at Namboole in June amended the party Constitution with the adoption of universal adult suffrage instead of electoral colleges in electing flag-bearers.
It was intended to cure members standing as independents on account of rigged primaries. Instead the adult suffrage primaries conducted last months were dogged by even more irregularities forcing many losers to declare that the would stand as independents.
Kigongo was addressing a meeting of NRM district chairpersons, party district registrars and their deputies, the party administrative secretaries, DISOs, DPCs and RDCs from the Busoga region at YMCA complex on Friday.
When he made his pronouncement on the stance towards independents, some NRM leaders who lost in the party primaries booed him.
The interactive meeting was aimed at getting views concerning the election malpractices that marred the party primaries. Kigongo tried to impress it upon members that in politics there are winners and losers.
“Even if you contest six people, we shall at the end of the game want one person and others shall have to lose, but we should win and lose in a fair way,†Kigongo counselled.
“It is self defeating for someone who contested in the primaries and wants to turn around and vie as an independent. You must forget it. Our NRM constitution is very clear and it does not allow those who failed in the primaries to come as independents,†he added.
He noted that some losers are ill advised by their agents because they want to continue milking them when they know the fact that they have no potential of winning the polls.
“Some of your agents are misleading you. They are after making money out of you for survival without telling you the truth that you have no support, save your money and wait for another time,†Kigongo advised.
Moses Kalangwa, the Jinja municipality NRM chairperson who also lost to Majid Batambuze for the Jinja mayoral seat, accused the district administrative secretary Michael Kasedde for messing up the polls.
Kalangwa, who also accused the Jinja deputy RDC Apollo Bwebale of taking sides in the primaries, said that Kasedde was given a line-up of candidates whom he would declare as winners.
However, the Jinja NRM Boss Moses Balyeku rebutted Kalangwa’s accusations and advised him not to make unsubstantiated allegations. Balyeku also pointed an accusing finger at Julius Zziwa, the party secretary general in the municipality for leading a gang that locked up the party offices.
“They think that when they are secretary generals they are governors, sensitization is needed which the party should consider,†Balyeku said.Â
Kigongo who said that they are aware of the security operatives who misbehaved in the exercise stressed the need to sensitize members as most of them acted ignorantly.
During the meeting that was also attended by MPs and LC5 chairpersons and aspirants who won and those who lost, Kigongo criticized some leaders who are going ahead to declare themselves as winners after losing saying that this is unacceptable.
Last week, state minister for lands Asumani Kiyingi who lost to Moses Kibbalya, a marketing manager at Nile breweries declared himself as the winner of the Bugabula South.
Kigongo stressed the party is bigger than individuals and should be given priority.
“Some of you are self seekers, you are just fighting for yourselves instead of fighting for the party. You will kill the party,†Kigongo added.
However, councilor Florence Biruma who lost to Fredrick Gume in the Jinja LC5 primaries argued that one may have a party card but with no support on that ground.
In an interview with The New Vision, Biruma said that Kigongo’s warning was not timely since their petitions had not yet been handled.
She advised him to weigh NRM aspirants’ support instead of blocking those seeking to contest as independents. Participants mainly the incumbents blamed presiding officers, RDCs and their opponents for the rigging that characterized.