| UPC fielding own candidate for '06 |
| By Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi |
| KAMPALA - The Uganda People's Congress (UPC) announced yesterday it will field its own candidate in next year's presidential election anticipated to be held under a multi-party arrangement. The announcement at the party headquarters is likely to upset opposition plans under the group of six (G6) parties, to which UPC is a member. The G6, alliance plans to field a single candidate to challenge President Yoweri Museveni should he offer himself for re-election. The group has variously indicated that a single opposition candidate would be the best to defeat Museveni or any other Movement backed candidate after 20 years of no party activity. But UPC said yesterday the group was only set up as a united front to fight the Museveni dictatorship but not to determine who contests in the elections. The Chairman of UPC's Constitutional Steering Committee (CSC), Hajji Badru Wegulo, announced the party' s position at a hastily called press conference at the party headquarters on Uganda House. "Come 2006 we are going to field a Presidential Candidate," Wegulo said. He said the party had seriously considered the position, which would be confirmed by its annual delegates conference due in August. The coordinating chairman of the G6, Mr Chapaa K. Karuhanga, said he still hoped a single candidate would emerge saying individual parties have to come up with their own candidates first. "I don't know at what stage they will go it alone because for us (G6), we believe that each party will come up with its own candidate you never know if UPC comes up with their candidate and he is the one agreed upon by the rest then we shall support him," Karuhanga said. The President General of the Democratic Party, Dr Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere, could not give a comment. "I am going to church right now," he said and hang up when contacted. A UPC official, Mr Joseph Ochei no, said he was confident UPC has the capacity to go it alone and win. Several opposition figures had hoped they would copy from the Kenyan model of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) that in 2003 swept aside the Kenya Africa National Union (Kanu) candidate Uhuru Kenyatta. "The commission (CSC) has completed preparations of guidelines for election of party leaders at the branch, constituency and district levels. Guidelines for branch elections have been distributed to the district organising committees for implementation. It is expected that by the end of this month, branch elections will be completed in all the districts. Constituency and district elections will follow thereafter," Wegulo said in a statement titled 'UPC to field its own Presidential candidate in 2006.' He said this would culminate into a delegates conference in August, which will select who stands on the party ticket for the presidential election. Who is eyeing the seat? Wegulo indicated yesterday that the party had a good cadreship of young men who are 'capable, disciplined and dedicated to lead the party." Wegulo said it would be unfair for old guards to insist on staying around yet UPC had a proud record of nurturing good leaders including many of those in government today. UPC's third coming Since the party was registered under the Political Parties and Organisations Act (PPOA) nearly two months ago intense activity has been going on at Uganda House to prepare UPC for a third coming. The party ruled the country at independence after forming an alliance with the Kabaka Yekka party. Until 1972 when Iddi Amin deposed Obote in a military coup. |
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