By Sarah Mazirwe – Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, January 14, 2019.
A section of Uganda’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Members of Parliament (MPs) said they are lobbying for the endorsement of president Yoweri Museveni as the sole candidate for the coming 2021 general elections.
This means that no other eligible candidate in NRM would be allowed to compete with Museveni to hold NRM flag in elections. The deputy chief whip of NRM, Solomon Silwany said the party lacks a competent person to bring victory in the general elections next year.
“As NRM, we are not seeing any candidate who will deliver us victory in 2021, other than Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,” Silwany said. But David Abala, MP for Ngora County said NRM flag bearer for the coming elections will be determined from the national delegates’ conference.
“The NRM delegates’ conference is the body that approves every political program of the party and it is from there that will be presented and the members will approve and that’s what happens at delegates’ conference,” Abala said.
In December last year, Museveni issued a directive summoning all NRM leaders to a national delegates’ conference to discuss matters of constitutional amendments among others. The conference will take place from January 20-22, 2020 at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
Uganda goes for presidential and parliamentary elections usually after five years and is set to go for polls early next year. The Museveni’s NRM party has been in power for the last 33 years and he has been the party’s chairperson.
NRM has the majority of MPs in parliament. Museveni, who is now 75 years old, came to power after toppling Milton Obote’s government in a military coup in 1986.
