Museveni to Sudan: Use free and fair elections to unite people
President Museveni at State House, Entebbe on March 17, 2022. PHOTO/PPU
What you need to know:
"Sudan should use free and fair elections to unite the people and bring peace. Also, holding elections disciplines politicians."
President Museveni has said fair elections where political actors rely on numbers and not tribes forces them to form alliances to get the numbers and helps bring unity.
“What is important is to have fair elections. Elections force people to unite to get numbers. Holding elections disciplines politicians, they are forced to make alliances to win elections since there is no tribe which has got more than 40 percent to win elections. It is also important to have a neutral interim government,” he said.
Mr Museveni was yesterday holding bilateral talks with Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Al – Burhan, the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of the Sudan.
Gen Al-Burhan, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation of Ministers and other Senior Government Officials, is in Uganda at the invitation of the President.
Mr Museveni tasked the Joint Permanent Commission to meet and agree on improving trade between the two countries.
“We can export tea, coffee etc. We now have direct airline that can promote trade,” he said.
They agreed to reactivate the meetings of the Joint Ministerial Commission and Joint Political Consultative Committee and directed the ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs to convene the 7th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission; and the 5th Session of the Joint Political Consultations Committee.
This they said would explore new areas of cooperation between the two countries and ensure the implementation of decisions, agreements and MoUs.
On the regional issues, particularly the relationship between Ethiopia and Sudan, President Museveni said if there is peace in Africa, the problem of fighting over water would be solved, saying the continent is gifted with large water sources, including the Congo River.
Each second the Congo River pours 1,200,000 cubic feet (34,000 cubic meters) of water into the Atlantic Ocean compared to Ethiopia’s Blue Nile waters which flow at an annual 3.85 billion cubic meters from Lake Tana that can be exploited.
He said they had proposed an IGAD summit to handle these issues including South Sudan.
President Museveni congratulated Gen Al – Burhan for his efforts towards ensuring peace and stability in the region and working towards a broad based and inclusive governance architecture in Sudan.
Gen Al - Burhan also congratulated Mr Museveni upon his re-election, and commended him for his outstanding leadership on matters of peace, security and stability as well as the socio-economic transformation of Uganda.
“We wanted to update you on the current situation in Sudan and consult with you on prospects and way forward using a chain of bilateral and multilateral relationships. You are very respected by the people of Sudan and appreciated for the leadership of your people. You have managed to lead your country and develop it,” he said.
Gen Al – Burhan also extended an invitation to the Ministry of Defence to cooperate with their counterparts.
The two heads of State exchanged views on the security situation in the Great Lakes Region.
They reviewed the state of bilateral relations and observed that although a number of Agreements and MoUs had previously been concluded between the two countries, their implementation had not been satisfactory largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gen Al – Burhan expressed his gratitude to the people of Uganda for the warm hospitality. He invited President Museveni to visit the Sudan in the near future.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Mr Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, Mr John Mulimba, Uganda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in-Charge of Regional Cooperation and other government officials.
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