President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has promised that when he finishes settling the internal wrangles within his NRM party, he wil turn his guns to opportunistic opposition and ensure its wiped out.
While making his end-of-year address on Friday, President Museveni said that in the recent by-elections, he watched tragic-comedy that was staged by the National Unity Platform (NUP) that Andrew Muwonge of NRM had won by cheating.
He wondered why would they accuse his party to cheat elections yet of all the political parties that participated in that by-election it was only NRM that had delivered services in Kayunga.
“Why only cheat in Kayunga? Why not in the few other areas where NUP won? Kayunga, Buganda and the whole of Uganda are, politically, NRM territory. Why? It is because the NRM has done more for those areas than anybody else.”
He added: “We are handling the internal weaknesses, including corruption. The opportunistic opposition will be wiped out. Those concerned with ballot stuffing, etc., why do they not support my plan for only electronic voting with thumbprints? It is the opposition and their collaborators, that always avoid voting electronically. We should amend the law to stop all non-electronic voting. That is what Democrats should be demanding.”
Museveni went ahead to warn that the tendency of NUP and other opposition political parties of being violent whenever there is an election to create fear so that the massive supporters of the NRM do not come out to vote will not be allowed again.
“You remember Arua where they even stoned my car and Bobi Wine was driving a grader (tinga tinga) into my convoy. This is self-deception. It cannot work in Uganda. I have given, in writing, guidelines to the Armed Forces to firmly and professionally ensure law and order and discipline in our society. I hereby direct our Media Unit to publicize these guidelines so that the Public is also informed and can knowledgeably audit the actions of the security forces and inform us if there are departures.”
However, despite Museveni’s argument that his party won Kayunga By-elections, the leader of NUP, Robert Kyagulanyi commonly known as Bobi Wine also in his end-of-year message yesterday, asserted that his party, won the elections by a landslide of a clear 15000 vote lead.
“There has been rigging in very many elections, but what they did in Kayunga was a new record. An election where you have all DR forms giving you a 15000 lead and the Returning Officer aided by Byabakama announces a different winner.”
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