DP rallies opposition to support its 2021 election campaign strategy

Feb 11, 2019

Last month, Peoples Development Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Truth for Justice (TJ), announced a decision to consolidate efforts with the DP to form a political bloc capable of causing regime change.

POLITICS

The Democratic Party (DP) merger is courting other opposition groups to galvanize support for its 2021 election campaign strategy.

Last month, Peoples Development Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Truth for Justice (TJ), announced a decision to consolidate efforts with the DP to form a political bloc capable of causing regime change.

The political consortium proposed an opposition election campaign strategy dubbed "one on one modal."

On top of fielding a joint Presidential candidate, the strategy proposes opposition political parties to field candidates in the parliamentary and local council elections basing on their strength in the region.

Mike Mabike, the president of the SDP has implored the Opposition that the only way to dislodge the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and President Yoweri Museveni is through acting as a united front.

According to Mabike, inter-party rivalries have for long prevented opposition from working together to foster change, a mistake which must be corrected now.

"We have already started sorting out all the issues which divided us and led to the collapse of the previous efforts to secure a formidable coalition against NRM," he said.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (TDA) in 2015 failed to choose a single candidate to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in the 2016 presidential election after nearly a week of deliberation.

The Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) formed by several opposition political parties, including Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP), Uganda People Congress (UPC) collapsed prior to the 2011 general elections.

The members disagreed on whether they should participate in an election organised by Badru Kigundu led Electoral Commission or not.

At the launch of one on one modal in Jinja last week, the DP merger announced that their push is to secure the Opposition coalition much earlier.

The one on one strategy, clusters opposition political parties per their regional strength and the political consortium suggests that, Buganda, Acholi, Busoga, Sebei and parts of West Nile be left to DP.

Kigezi, Ankole, Toro, Bunyoro and parts of Teso be left out for Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) .

UPC according to the group should be offered Lango, Karamoja, and parts of North Eastern.

Muntu's party Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), the consortium wants it to settle for West Nile, and Rwenzori sub-region.

Though local representatives of other opposition players such as UPC, JEEMA, Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) of Mugisha Muntu, People Power of Robert Kyagulanyi a.k.a Bobi Wine  attended the Jinja launch,  it was not enough to paint a picture that their principals in Kampala were in for one on one modal.

FDC has since questioned the attainability of the strategy, insisting that they have never been consulted for their take on the matter to be included.

For UPC, Internal bickering is taking the parties to another dimension and as it appears, this may be more pressing subject than regime change.

Last week, Jimmy Akena administration announced a decision that may climax into the Otunnu-Bossa led faction being showed exit from the party.

At a press conference at Uganda House in Kampala on Wednesday, Akena and the MP Lira Municipality, disclosed that the party was instituting disciplinary measures against the former party vice president, Joseph Bossa.

Bossa was summoned to appear before the party disciplinary committee together with Peter Walubiri, former party secretary general, Jancito Ogwal, the former MP Otuke county and Isha Otto Amiza on March 15, 2019.

However, the Otunnu-Bbosa faction is not ready to appear before Akena administration disciplinary committee, insisting that Akena group has never even been a faction of UPC but an affiliate of the National Resistance Movement.

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