| KAMPALA
THE Uganda People's Congress (UPC) yesterday said it will not join a coalition with any political party ahead of 2006 elections.
Many political observers and some members of the opposition, the latest being the Forum for Democratic Change's Spokesman, Mr Wafula Oguttu, have been suggesting that the only way to defeat President Yoweri Museveni is by the opposition forming a coalition.
It had been suggested that the opposition should front a single candidate to defeat the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
UPC is a party too big to join any other party. We are not going to form another party. We agree to cooperate and advise our friends in other parties to do their politics without using UPC's name. They are misinforming our members by using our names, but they should refrain if they want the good spirit to continue, said Hajji Badru Wegulo, the UPC Constitution Steering Committee chairman, at a press briefing yesterday.
He said UPC recognises that to
remove
the current NRM dictatorship demands the cooperation of all Ugandans in the opposition.
Wegulo said UPC works with other opposition parties under the G6 arrangement.
But the cooperation should not be construed to mean readiness to surrender UPC's identity as a political party.
UPC stands out for its values, ideology aims and objectives as spelt out in its party constitution. There is no compromise on that position, Wegulo said.
Wegulo denied allegations that some political parties had approached UPC for a coalition.
This is not true since UPC has neither been approached by any other party on this matter nor negotiated any arrangement on joint candidature," Wegulo said.
On Monday, the New Vision reported that UPC would combine efforts and resources with FDC to defeat Museveni in next year's elections.
The newspaper quoted Maj. Edward Rurangaranga, a Uganda Peoples Congress official in Bushenyi. | 
