Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) NEC members are not having it! They are up in arms, raising strong objections to the ongoing internal party elections organized by President Patrick Amuriat and Secretary-General Nandala Mafabi.
At a fiery press conference in Kampala on Thursday, FDC spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda spilled the tea, accusing the duo of totally ignoring a National Executive Committee decision made on June 16, 2023.
He says the NEC had agreed on a chill retreat to address some critical issues before moving forward with the internal elections but the party proceeded with the current elections, supervised by Toterebuka Bamwenda as the FDC electoral commission chairperson. This has got the side-eye from party NEC members.
According to Ssemujju Nganda, these elections are nothing but “selections,” not the real deal. He has called out bias in the party card issuance process, claiming they played favorites and locked out many members from the fun.
“Nandala stopped issuance of party cards. The intention was to lockout many party members from the electoral exercise. This so called elections has no electoral officials. Some fellows were picked by some district chairmen and Nandala and trained as district electoral officials for one day. They were dispatched to train sub-county and parish electoral officials,” Ssemujju said.
Ssemujju also dropped some serious shade about the lack of trained electoral officials. Allegedly, some random people were picked by district chairmen and Nandala Mafabi for one-day training.
FDC NEC members are now demanding some serious changes. They want a transparent register of all party members and a total makeover of the electoral commission.
They are also demanding that Nandala, Amuriat, and other party leaders planning to be candidates better step aside and an interim leadership to take charge until the next delegates’ conference.
Buhweju County MP, Francis Mwijukye, also chimed in with some spicy conspiracy theories saying he thinks this whole election thing is just a plan to hand over FDC to President Museveni. Mwijukye warned that FDC was deeply rooted and not susceptible to being taken over like other parties, vowing to protect the party’s integrity.
“We are aware one of the issues that Nandala and his group agreed upon with Mr. Museveni is to organize this sham election to potray the Electoral Commission by Justice Byabakama as being credible. It is not a coincidence it has happened at a time when Electoral Commission launched its roadmap for 2026 general election,” Mwijukye said.
About FDC elections
The internal elections of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) are democratic processes where members elect leaders for various positions within the party, from grassroots to national levels. However, these elections have faced controversies and disputes in the past, with concerns raised about bias and manipulation.
The FDC leadership emphasizes the importance of conducting credible internal elections to maintain party cohesion and transparency. These elections play a critical role in shaping the party’s direction and leadership.
These internal elections are closely monitored by party members, the media, and other stakeholders to assess the party’s internal democracy and the level of inclusiveness in its decision-making processes.