On Sunday evening, I watched the Right Honorable Rebecca Kadaga addressing the media and declaring to run as an independent candidate. Immediately I started making an audit of the NRM’s strength in the 11th parliament but the results I was getting were giving me headache and stomach ache at the same time. I knew the NRM had numbers but still I wasn’t sure of victory given the contradicting kind of Politics our NRM Members of parliament usually play. I also knew about the fifty eight NUP members of parliament, those of FDC and the Independents. Anything was possible if Kadaga did her mobilisation and given the fact that she had been speaker and of course had influence on several members of parliament including the loyal Cadres of NRM. After that, my minds took me to the aftermath of the election, just in case Kadaga won as an Independent with the kind of emotions I had seen her portray during her address to the media. I vividly saw trouble befalling us.
However to my surprise, the National Resistance Movement candidate Jacob Oulanyah sailed through with a difference of over a hundred votes. This did not only plant new confidence in me but I got an assurance of the NRM dependable strength in the 11th parliament. The members of parliament clearly communicated to us that they’re ideologicaly clear and well versed with the principles of the National Resistance Movement and they also clearly communicated to us that they’re obedient to the National Chairman of the party. I was going to be hurt and embarrassed if the President sat in the tent and later got different results from the election of Speakership. It would also mean that we were going to have similar challenges that we had with 10th parliament where several government programs were delayed from parliament and I’m sure that contributed to the bad performance of NRM in the central region and other places where we performed badly in the recent concluded general elections.
However much the Independence of the speaker is very much important but we are in multiparty democracy. We can’t subscribe to Political patties during elections and shun them when we get particular positions. Also the Political parties we belong to have manifestos and as leaders who subscribe to those parties must work in fulfillment of the manifestos. Anybody who does contrary doesn’t only fight the party he belongs to but can as well lead to the crumbling of the government in power. Ugandans trust the NRM and President Museveni because of what has been done. When someone fights or delays the programs of doing more for the people they’re not only putting us down but they act as real enemies of the party they belong to. That’s the same reason as to why we have problems with the underperforming Civil servants and it’s the same reason we should bring them to order so that the local people can see the effectiveness of the NRM government.
Oulanyah’s win yesterday puts confidence in all the people that could have been doubting the NRM’S strength in parliament. In the 10th parliament the opposition politicians tried to dare NRM through legislature. They had wanted to fail the age limit bill so that the National Chairman of the NRM doesn’t run again. They were very much aware that on ground they had no support to achieve their goal so they wanted to use a short cut of parliament. The NRM defeated them on the floor of parliament and am sure they have an answer now if at all they want to try again. The fifteen votes that the FDC candidate got further makes another statement to them. Conclusively, the Politics of coexistence, tolerance and being accommodative will still reign. The NRM government creates no grudge with anybody but rather considers working for ugandans as first priority before anything else and that will continue.
The writer is a deputy RDC Kitagwenda District.
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