Museveni back as NRM’s 2011 flag bearer
By Timothy Nsubuga
13th Sept 2010
He's back again!
Incumbent NRM party Chairman Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has been endorsed and returned unopposed as the party’s national Chairman. According the NRM party constitution, Museveni’s retention of the party Chairmanship also makes him the party’s automatic flag bearer for the 2011 elections.
The NRM National Executive Council [NEC] endorsed Museveni at a 10hr meeting on Friday 10th Sept at State House Entebbe. Whilst Museveni’s position was never in any doubt, sources that attended the meeting said the party’s NEC spent most of the 10hrs debating the fate of other top NRM big shots like Vice Chairman Hajji Moses Kigongo and Secretary General Amama Mbabazi.
As it had been widely anticipated by political analysts, this latest political development has now set the stage for a 3rd battle between President Museveni and his most formidable political challenger Dr. Kizza Besigye for the presidency of Uganda.
Dr. Kizza Besigye, who is also the Forum for Democratic Change [FDC] party President, had already secured the consent of the Inter Party Coalition [IPC] leaders to contest for the presidency of Uganda as the IPC’s flag bearer. After UPC’s withdrawal, the IPC now consists of FDC, Jeema, SDP, and CP.
Dr. Kizza Besigye first challenged Museveni for the presidency of Uganda in the 2001 general elections. That contest saw him win 27.8% of the national vote share against Museveni’s 69.3%. He again challenged Museveni in the 2006 general elections and raised his national vote tally from 27% to 37% and Museveni managed to reek in 59%.
However, it must be pointed out that in both the 2001 and 2006 general elections, Dr. Kizza Besigye said the elections had been massively rigged in favour of the incumbent President Museveni. As a result, he petitioned the Supreme Court of Uganda seeking nullification of Museveni’s election “victory”.
On both occasions, the Supreme Court ruled that whilst there were massive irregularities and rigging, they did not “substantially affect the outcome of the elections”. And on the strength of that reasoning, the Supreme Court Judges upheld both Museveni’s controversial election victories.
But something of great political significance also happened on the same day the Supreme Court upheld Museveni’s 2006 election victory. Dr. Kizza Besigye, no doubt incensed by the absurdity of the ruling, declared that he would never go back to the Supreme Court to challenge any election until the law is amended to remove the “substantial effect” absurdity in the Presidential Elections Act.
During investigations conducted by Uganda Correspondent in the Lango region during the voter display exercise, many people gave us evidence that strongly suggested that the NRM had already planted its cadres within the Electoral Commission system to rig the 2011 elections for President Museveni. But here is the big dilemma for Besigye, the IPC leaders, and indeed the whole country.
If the NRM has already planted its cadres within the Electoral Commission system to rig the 2011 elections for Museveni, and the IPC flag bearer Dr. Kizza Besigye has already ruled out ever going back to the Supreme Court to seek redress for Museveni’s election rigging, then what other civil alternatives remain? END. If is Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent. Never miss out again!
