KAMPALA – The Opposition has said the decision by the NRM Central Executive Committee to endorse President Museveni for 2021 election is not a surprise and that they will not waste their time discussing the matter.
During a retreat at Chobe safari lodge min Nwoya District on Tuesday, CEC, NRM’s top decision-making organ, members endorsed, a number of resolutions to consolidate the party’s political and economic agenda, among them the need to maintain Mr Museveni, their party chairperson at the helm of the party and the country.
But addressing journalists at Parliament on Wednesday, the Leader of the Opposition, Ms Betty Aol, and Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze (DP), who is the speaker of opposition in Parliament,said Mr Museveni’s push for life presidency has been in the pipeline and hence there is no further need to debate it.
Instead, they said, the opposition is pre-occupied with measures that will take the country to a democratic path.
“There is nothing new of the Chobe declaration; who didn’t know that Museveni will be a candidate in 2021 and beyond?” Nambooze said.
“Whatever they decide is not our business, we cannot respond on everything they do,’ Ms Aol said.
Ms Nambooze said the NRM declaration for Museveni’s sole candidature in 2021 “is a trick for this regime to keep us focusing on the next election, for us we have unresolved issues in the 2016 elections and they should form the basis for the next election.”
The duo instead accused the ruling party of ignoring key policies that will ensure a free and fair election.
Ms Aol said that she was disappointed with government for dilly darling on electoral reforms.
“When Magyezi brought his amendment (on age limit), it was welcome, and when it comes to electoral reforms, gov’t has given the matter a deaf ear,” she said.
She said that there is need to liberalise the political arena, to allow free flow of political ideas across the divide.
“The electoral laws make it difficult for those who express themselves as opposition to freely express their views in this country; it is not easy for us to push things,” she added.
