Opposition strongman, Dr Kizza Besigye, has said he will back FDC’s Eunice Namatende in the Bugiri municipality election unless a compromise opposition candidate is got in the remaining few hours.
Nominations for the candidates were supposed to take place yesterday and today but they were delayed by a court injunction.
Speaking to The Nile Post from his Katonga road offices, Besigye expressed his disappointment with the failure to reach a compromise position that would have seen a joint opposition front in the Bugiri elections.
Besigye who is set to meet the Basalirwa team today morning, in a last minute attempt to strike a deal, says he was at first disappointed with the Jeema president’s team because they were reluctant to reach a compromise with FDC.
He said the FDC that he belongs to favours a scientific procedure in which the local people would be involved in selecting a candidate unlike Basalirwa’s team which wanted FDC to just base on his popularity and to be automatically appointed the opposition flagbearer.
“I am involved in a campaign to get power from the junta back to the people so I cannot support an idea of a clique of us in Kampala imposing a candidate on people who have a right to elect their representatives,” Besigye said.
He added: “Unless something changes in the next few hours before the nominations , I will naturally back the candidate of my party Eunice Namatende.”
Besigye said he has nothing personal against Basalirwa, who in 2016 supported Amama Mbabazi for the presidency.
He said it is a matter of principle that the people should be at the centre of the decisions they make.
The Bugiri polls will most likely split the opposition brigade with a section heading to the district to back Basalirwa and the rest, Namatende.