Leader of Opposition in Parliament Wafula Oguttu has lashed out at people who continue to describe the National Resistance Movement as a mass party intended to serve Ugandans.
“There is no party called NRM. It is just a group of people led by President Museveni which purports to call itself a party” Wafula said while appearing on KFM Premium talk show The Hot Seat.
“They don’t even make accountability to the Electoral Commission as required by law” Wafula added.
Wafula revealed that President Museveni has refused to pass a law which provides for the funding of political parties.
“Museveni has since 2005 has refused political parties to be funded because he knows he can get money from the public coffers and ran his party, he doesn’t hide that” he said.
Wafula revealed that there is a law which stops opposition Political parties from getting funds from several donor countries. “There is a law which says that we can’t get over Shs 500m from one single donor out of ten countries. This is a method being used to curtail the opposition” he revealed.
He continued that the opposition can’t get funds from the local business people including foreign donors who have since June 2010 been unable to fund opposition parties because according to Government the funds were being used to destabilize the country.
Wafula stressed the importance of electoral and constitutional reforms adding that they were necessary as the country was heading to the 2016 General elections.
He added that the Forum for Democratic Change had finished drafting its copy and was ready to work with other parties, religious organizations, NGO’s and academia to have one document and harmonise all electoral reform laws which would be presented to parliament for approval.
“We shall pass a private members bill if parliament doesn’t accept our proposals. We shall honestly find a method of having electoral reforms in the country before the 2016 general elections” Wafula stressed.
“For the last couple of months we have been moving around the country and we have gathered views from all Ugandans on the electoral reforms” he said.
Wafula was pleased to note that the Forum for Democratic Change including JEEMA and the UPC are the only parties which own premises. “Unlike the NRM which has failed to pay it’s rental arrears for its Plot 10 Kyandodo Road offices, we bought offices on Entebbe Road on an acre of land out of our political ingenuity” he noted.
“We also want to have structures and also have a presidential flag bearer before May next year” he revealed.
Some of the electoral reforms that the opposition and civil society are pushing for include having an independent Electoral commission, removal of the military and use of money in the election process. The opposition is also pushing for the Electoral commission to display a permanent Voter’s register at all district offices.
The opposition and Civil society organizations are also strongly pushing for the incumbent President to hand over power to a commission preferably the chief Justice who will take charge of the country during the election process.
But some analysts have expressed their skepticism whether the electoral reforms the opposition and civil society organizations are pushing for will be implemented.
On whether the Forum for Democratic Change had met ex-prime minister Amama Mbabazi Wafula revealed that the FDC hadn’t met the Mbabazi but was quick to add that Museveni’s biggest challenge were the unemployed youth.
“The biggest challenge that Museveni faces aren’t the terrorists but the unemployed youth who will one day explode on him. They have lost hope” he said.
Mean while former health minister Hon. Jim Muhwezi dismissed allegations that Mbabazi would be blocked from attending the fourth coming NRM delegates on December 15th.
“Why should Hon.Mbabazi be blocked? He is a member of the NRM and Member of Parliament, so he will be free to attend’ Muhwezi made the remarks while appearing on NTV’s fourth estate.
