NRM,DP to examine their cooperation progress

The secretaries general of the Opposition Democratic Party (DP) and those of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) are set to meet next week and assess the progress of the cooperation agreement they signed to work together.

Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Norbert Mao, who also doubles as the DP president, while speaking to the media in Kampala yesterday, said it is now one and a half years since the cooperation agreement was signed and there has never been an assessment to establish whether there is progress or otherwise and adjust accordingly.

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The meeting
“The meeting between DP and NRM secretaries general will discuss some of the institutional arrangements of the cooperation because we were supposed to have a joint secretariat for the implementation of the cooperation agreement and it is still in pipeline,” Mr Mao said.
Mr Mao added that the very reason why they insisted on the written document is because DP does not believe in informal arrangements and that they need to assess the progress basing on the signed document.

“The meeting will also focus on administrative arrangement to ensure DP members are also part of the discussions, and are involved in some of the implementation of government programmes because we have heard that NRM leaders are involved in decision-making,” he said.

Mr Mao added that the meeting will set a schedule of the regular meetings of key leaders so that their ideas can also be part of the running of the State.
“The meeting will talk about the next elections. Like I have said, to run the State, you must win an election and to win election, you must have 50 percent plus one [of the vote] which we are looking for,” he said. 

Authenticity issues
Mr Mao emphasised that they as DP are sincere in the cooperation agreement and that they expect NRM to also be sincere. 
“We have been studying the results of last elections and we have seen constituencies where DP was a very strong number two and we shall invest in those areas to win. 
 He also added that if the partnership with NRM continues, there are places where they [NRM] are lagging behind and that in such places, DP will be the preferred party to field candidates.

Mr Mao also noted that it is now the duty of the secretaries general to move the agenda of the agreement because he did his part as the party president. 
“There are those who do not know how hard is it to negotiate with President Museveni. We succeeded because I was not dying to be a minister. You can remember that office of Justice and Constitutional Affairs was kept vacant for one full year because I could not take it without a written agreement,” he said.

Mr Mao also noted that despite having the cooperation agreement in place, the party is expected to participate as DP in the 2026 General Election, not under NRM.
“We retain our identity as DP because the cooperation is for only this term of Parliament. Come 2026, DP will have a presidential candidate, who will be elected by the DP delegates conference come mid this year. 
Our effort to talk to the NRM secretary general were futile by press time.

The agreement

On July 20, President Museveni and DP’s Norbert Mao signed a working cooperation agreement between the two political parties that will be in place until the 2026 polls.
The signing was witnessed by NRM secretary general Richard Tadwong, and the DP secretary general Gerald Siranda. 
In the signed agreement, the two parties agreed to share political power and to cooperate with NRM in supporting the overall governance agenda and supporting parliamentary votes on matters of confidence and supply for the full term (2021-2026) of this Parliament.

In the agreement, Mr Mao was to be appointed as the minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, while another DP leader was to  be appointed to a ministerial position.
DP also committed to support the NRM government on technical motions in Parliament and in committees provided there is consultation among the parties through their chief whips.

However, majority of the DP leaders rejected the agreement, saying Mr Mao did not consult them before signing.
Currently, the party is divided into two factions, one led by Mr Mao and the other by Buikwe South MP  Micheal Lulume Bayiga.
The party is expected to have delegates conference mid this year, where the party leadership will be renewed from village to national level.