By Mulengera Reporters
On Thursday 18th September, Presidents of FDC, NRM, DP, UPC, JEEMA and PPP will converge at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds for the IPOD Summit meeting which has been convened by Gen YK Museveni in his capacity as Chairman for the NRM party which currently holds the rotational chairpersonship of the Inter-Party Cooperation for Dialogue.
Sources reveal that Museveni personally guided the IPOD Secretariat on which party leaders to invite and indicated he wasn’t desirous to invite the NUP President because the party has up to this day refused and declined to enrol for IPOD membership as is prescribed under the law. Museveni’s view is that under the new amendment to the law governing political parties, failing or omitting to enrol for membership makes NUP ineligible.
At the Thursday meeting, Museveni will hold discussions with Asuman Basalirwa, Norbert Mao, Jimmy Akena, Saddam Gayira and Patrick Oboi Amuriat.
Knowledgeable sources say that some of the things Museveni will be discussing with fellow IPOD Summitt members include how Police and other security agencies are going to balance between enforcing the so-called public order management Act on one hand without constraining political party President, Parliamentary and other candidates from moving around the country campaigning freely on the other.
The party bosses will also be thanking Museveni for conceding on the need for the oncoming IPOD Shs45bn to be shared out equally among parties with representation in Parliament, because 2026 is an election year, as opposed to basing on numerical strength. Each party president will be accompanied to the Summit by a large delegation of his respective party leaders.
Naturally, there will be a photo moment whereby the principals of the different party delegations at the Summit will have to take a group photo, a practice NUP is vigorously opposed to on grounds that the same can be used to do PR and give legitimacy to Gen YK Museveni who opponents have continued accusing of stealing each and every election Uganda has organized since 1996.
He will be running in 2026 to seek his 9th term as President of Uganda.
Continued staying away from the IPOD meetings, including the Summit, will make NUP miss out on the Shs45bn fellow parties with representation in Parliament will be sharing and much more. Much more because Museveni had promised to support demands for political parties to receive the equal share they missed and were deprived of during the 2020/2021 campaigning period, as arrears with interest accruing from 2020 when it was supposed to be paid to beneficiary political parties. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
