Mbarara FDC members boycott party primary elections

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Mbarara Chapter members have unanimously agreed to stay away from the national party primary elections, saying the electoral processes do not meet the required legal standards.

Speaking to party members at Grand Holiday Hotel in Mbarara on Monday, the Mbarara City FDC Chairperson Mr Goerge Tumwesigye said members in his area of jurisdiction are not ready to participate in the elections because of the current wrangles amongst party leaders. 

“As FDC leaders from Mbarara City, we shall not participate in the elections, there was no organization, we do not have a register, guidelines, and members have no party cards,” he said.

“We want the current Electoral Commission team to quit office because they have not been fair to our constitution. Without cards, how are we going to know who is an FDC member and who is not?  We might elect leaders who are not members of FDC,” Mr Tumwesigye added.

Mr Micheal Mushambo, the FDC youth leader in Mbarara City said: “We want the insurgencies in the party to stop before we embark on elections.”

Former Mbarara City Member of Parliament candidate, Mr Anthony Agaba who also doubles as Kiyanja LC1 Chairperson said that as party members, they are not ready to participate in the elections unless they see clear and genuine people organising it and with clear guidelines.

“We shall not engage in this vote, we believe in transparency and accountability. We do not have party cards. We want a special delegates’ conference to be explained some of these issues. We love FDC and we shall fight until we get our party back,” he said.

Background

It has been a difficult 24 months ever since FDC’s founding President Dr Kizza Besigye first raised the issue of “dirty money” being allegedly sneaked into the party during a National Council meeting held at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi in 2021. 

The “dirty money” crisis has now pitted two camps against each other in what seems like a duel to death: one at Katonga Road office, where Dr Besigye’s ‘People’s Government’ operates, and another led by secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi at the party headquarters.