The National Unity Platform (NUP) has vowed not to endorse the withdrawal of any of its candidates, despite public declarations by some of them pulling out of parliamentary races.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said the law does not allow a candidate sponsored by a political party to unilaterally withdraw from an election race without the consent of the sponsoring party.
In recent days, several NUP parliamentary candidates from Ankole, Kigezi, Tooro, Bunyoro, and parts of eastern Uganda have publicly announced their withdrawal from races in favour of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Some of the candidates have since been paraded at President Yoweri Museveni’s campaign rallies, where they denounced NUP, while others reportedly withdrew following engagements with Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and her Deputy, Thomas Tayebwa.
Rubongoya said the party views the withdrawals as part of a deliberate scheme to weaken NUP’s presence at polling stations.
He noted that previously, NUP had been accused of lacking candidates, but after demonstrating its capacity to recruit them, the ruling party has resorted to buying them off.
Rubongoya said NUP is aware that the candidates are allegedly being induced with promises of money and government jobs to facilitate what he described as vote rigging.
“The aim is to aid in vote rigging because they don’t want to have polling agents, so that they can aid in vote rigging. This shows which party is really fighting Museveni. But I want to say this: the party is not going to write to the Electoral Commission to designate any of those candidates; I can authoritatively say that. Those candidates will still be on the ballot come January 15,” Rubongoya said.
Efforts to obtain a comment from NRM spokesperson Emmanuel Dombo were unsuccessful, as calls to his known telephone number went unanswered. However, speaking in Tooro earlier this week, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa said the candidates who withdrew had realised they were misled into supporting NUP and had since “seen the light.” Tayebwa denied claims that the candidates were bribed or promised government positions.
According to Section 36(3) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, a candidate sponsored by a political party can only withdraw from the race if the notification of withdrawal is “signed and filed by the Secretary General of the political party or organisation or any other person authorised by the political party or organisation.”
Meanwhile, Rubongoya has reiterated NUP’s call for voters to remain near polling stations after casting their votes.
The issue has sparked heated debate, with President Museveni, his son, and Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama urging voters to return home immediately after voting. Rubongoya, however, said the law allows voters to remain within a 20-metre radius outside polling stations and that any directives to the contrary are unlawful.
He added that during the last election, many NUP polling agents were arrested in areas including Kazo, Kiruhura, Kwania, and Omoro, making it necessary for voters to stay alert to prevent ballot stuffing.
Rubongoya said such vigilance helped NUP secure victory for Erias Nalukoola in the Kawempe North by-election.
He also condemned the Chief of Defence Forces for what he termed as overstepping the mandate of the Electoral Commission by issuing directives on election day procedures.
Asked whether defying the CDF’s directives could expose NUP supporters to danger, Rubongoya said the party has little choice. He said NUP members have previously been arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and killed, yet this has not deterred them from pursuing their political objectives.“It’s like someone telling us to stop whatever we’re doing, close the political party, and go home.
There are several objectives why we are in this. Even when they brutalise us or kill us, we shall continue moving because what we are doing is legal,” Rubongoya said.
On the increasingly violent nature of the campaigns, Rubongoya said NUP anticipated the situation, arguing that the government cannot allow the opposition to freely engage voters and explain the need for political change.
The Electoral Commission has set January 15 as the polling date for the presidential and parliamentary elections.
The contest pits NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu against incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking to extend his rule beyond four decades.
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