Nobert Mao casting his vote
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Norbert Mao was last week declared winner in a vote to elect the President General of Uganda’s oldest political grouping, the Democratic Party.
This was after he garnered 969 votes against his closest challenger, Dr Lulume Bayigga, who obtained 339 votes. The third placed Elia Alitia manager to procure 52 votes in the tightly guarded process.
The internal election, which was scheduled for Saturday but was postponed to Monday was marred by violence and protests from some quarters.
The point of contention was what DP members termed as the “unholy marriage” between their party and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) of President Yoweri Museveni.
DP’s re-election means that the cooperation agreement between DP and the NRM will continue unabated, since Mao agreed to work with the rulling party for an indefinite period and is still a member of cabinet.
Nobert Mao beaming with satisfaction after being announced to the leadership role
A big cross section of members expressed their anxiety of the agreement, saying that it depicts that their party is for sale, and that the agreement determines its future.
DP, which signed a cooperation agreement with the NRM on July 20th 2021 at State House Entebbe was between Mao as the sole signatory and President Museveni, making it prone to abuse.
The rapture would appear when the NRM Government wins the 2026 general elections, and DP emerges as the biggest political party in the Uganda parliament.
A merger would easily appear catapulting the DP President into a major role either as a deputy prime minister or Vice President, leading into a permanate marriage and collapse of DP for lack of a competent and ever present head.
Mao’s protracted absence from his role ad DP’s President General has affected the party’s membership mobilisation efforts. It has weakened the party’s position in Uganda’s opposition politics.
This pact also appears to have affected the party’s appeal to voters, with just a handful of them being seen engaging the current establishment.
Contested election
Sinking the party deeper is the current contestation concerning the outcome of the flawed internal elections.
Aggrieved party members who talked to Habari Daily after the voting, referred to the process as highly compromised, making it extremely hard to get reliable results.
Nobert Mao speaks to one of the DP members at the delegates conference
“We have discovered that the reason why the tallying center was shifted from the original venue of the delegates conference to a hotel in Kampala, was to steal votes,” said Ibrahim Muliisa, a delegate from western Uganda.
He said although they haven’t decided on legally challenging the results in courts of law, they will most likely to take that route.
Mao, has led the Democratic Party since 2010, is set to become the party’s presidential flag bearer come 2026, and wold appear to be opposing the current Government, although he would render the election genuine, since it would have drawn a member from a major political party.
Mao is a Ugandan political activist and lawyer, who has been a three-time presidential candidate and served as the Local Council 5 chairman for Gulu District.
He is the current minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the Ugandan government, an office he assumed on 21 July 2022. He was appointed to this position by President Museveni.
