The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Party President, Patrick Oboi Amuriat has asked President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to scrutinize the implementation of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto over the years.
Amuriat, who contested in the 2021 presidential elections and secured third place while President Museveni emerged as the winner, expressed concern that the NRM has deviated from the democratic principles outlined in its manifesto.
He accused the party of manipulating election results and veering away from fundamental democratic practices. Referencing the Soroti City East by-election involving Moses Attan Okia and NRM’s Herbert Edmund Ariko, Amuriat highlighted NRM cadres allegedly employing questionable tactics to secure victory for their candidate.
He claimed that despite Attan winning the by-election, he’s not in parliament, which, according to Amuriat, contradicts the NRM’s manifesto.
During a gathering celebrating the victory of Soroti City Woman MP Joan Alobo Acom on Saturday, Amuriat emphasized the discrepancy between the NRM’s stated principles of peace, unity, democracy, and the rule of law in their manifesto and their actual practices today.
He directed a message to Museveni through Shaban Ali, the NRM Coordinator Office of the National Chairman (ONC) for Soroti City East, demanding adherence to the original NRM manifesto. Ali, after presenting the NRM manifesto to Amuriat, invited the FDC president and his followers to collaborate with the ruling government, a proposal Amuriat did not explicitly agree to.
Amuriat noted the presence of leaders from rival political parties (NRM, NUP, UPC) at the event as evidence of people acknowledging FDC’s perspective. In response, Shaban emphasized the NRM’s inclusive manifesto, catering to citizens regardless of cultural, social, or economic status.
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