Erias Lukwago, the Lord Mayor of Kampala, is at the helm of a Katonga group of the Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party that has just released its electoral roadmap.
This process will ultimately result in the election of new party leaders.
Speaking this morning at their offices on Katonga Road in Kampala, Lukwago said that the party’s National Executive Committee meeting that took place the previous week agreed on the roadmap that will not only see the party obtaining new leaders but will also see the party carrying out tours across the country.
Lukwago added that the party will carry out these tours in order to garner support from the general public.
Lukwago stated that they aim to write to the police in order to notify them about their planned activities.
He also stated that they do not anticipate the police to interrupt these meetings in any way, shape, or form because the FDC is a recognized political party that has the right to function without limits.
Lukwago stated that the delegates’ conference that is being held by the Najjanankumbi group led by the party president Patrick Amuriat Oboi and Secretary General Nathan Nandala Mafabi is unlawful since it was not sanctioned by the party Chairman Wasswa Birigwa.
Oboi and Mafabi are the party’s president and secretary-general, respectively.
He stated that he is anticipating that the court would issue an injunction to prohibit it this week due to the fact that it is in violation of the FDC constitution.
Lukwago also stated that they are planning to meet with prominent members of the FDC to discuss ways to revitalize the party.
He added that a number of national leaders are upset about the current situation in the FDC.
In the meantime, Michael Kabaziguruka, the head of the Electoral Commission of the FDC, stated that all arrangements have been put out, and the culmination of these plans would be the hosting of a Delegates’ Conference in March of the following year.
The road map indicates that the first election will take place on December 9 and will involve the choice of leaders at all levels, from the village to the district.
Following that, on March 15, 2024, there will be a national Delegates’ Conference at which the party’s national leaders will be elected.
In the meantime, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission for the FDC faction based in Najjanankumbi, Boniface Toterebuka Bamwenda, has also announced that the elections for the FDC National Executive Committee will take place on October 6 at the Patidar Samaj Sports Ground in Lugogo.
It is anticipated that 1,271 voters will participate in these elections.
He stated that the registration of voters, election observers, and other individuals will take place at the headquarters of the party on Thursday, October 5 from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon.
Toterebuka provided a list of the types of voters who were invited, which included District Chairpersons, General Secretaries, Secretaries for Publicity and Mobilization, Women League Chairpersons, and Youth Secretaries.
At the constituency level, Chairpersons and General Secretaries were invited, of which at least one must be a female.
“As the party electoral commission, we are prepared for this election with maximum respect for the FDC electoral guidelines and the party constitutions,” said Toterebuka.
“This election will be held with maximum respect for the FDC electoral guidelines and the party constitutions.” In addition, he stated that elections would be held for any and all open positions and that the winning candidates would be expected to uphold the party constitution until the end of their terms in 2028.
Toterebuka stated that his record isn’t problematic and that he can never work under anyone’s influence when asked about whether or not he is capable of delivering a free and fair election in light of the fact that some party members who were opposed to the election have accused him of being impartial.
During the same press event, the deputy spokesperson for the party, John Kikonyogo, made a snide remark about individuals who are opposed to the process and threatened to sue the head of the party electoral commission.
He stated that he is available to show them to Toterebuka in the event that they are unable to locate him in order to serve him with any court documents.
After a faction of the FDC accused the top leaders of the party of pocketing money that had been granted to them by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the party sank into anarchy.
Since then, the disagreement has resulted in the splitting of the party, with one section, the Katonga faction, conducting an extraordinary delegates’ meeting at which they suspended both Amuriat and Nandala from their respective positions as president and secretary general.
