The opposition unites, but not entirely – the president and his party will be
hard to beat at next year’s elections
Dissent is growing against a leader and party that have dominated the country for 24 years. On 23 August, Uganda’s diverse opposition parties aim to announce their joint candidate for the presidential election next February. The two-year-old Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) agreement is holding firm as the campaign gets under way. It links the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), Justice Forum (JEEMA) and the Conservative Party; few doubt that the FDC leader,
Kizza-Besigye">Kizza Besigye, a former ruling party stalwart and colonel, will be its standardbearer. The ‘spirit of cooperation’ requires a delegates’ conference to choose him by consensus rather than coronation, after four wise elders from each party have agreed on the man most likely to defeat President
Yoweri Museveni.
Kizza-Besigye">Kizza Besigye, Olara Otunnu, Norbert Mao, Hussein Kyanjo and Abed Bwanika.
Violence and intrigue – at home and abroad – overshadow the impending
elections
Someone is trying to kill the opponents of General Paul Kagame ahead of the presidential election on 9 August. A group of armed men bungled an attack against an exiled Rwandan diss...