Bobi Wine's NUP refuses to drop red colour as ordered by EC

Kyadondo East legislator Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu's National Unity Platform (NUP) party has said it will not stay off the red colour as recommended by the Electoral Commission.

The EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama on Monday said that the politician cum singer's party applied for a change of its colours to make red dominant but the request was not accepted because red is already in use by the UPC.

Justice Byabakama said that the NUP, formerly registered as National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party, had white and blue as its primary colours and although the request to change its name was allowed, the one pertaining to colours was not approved.

Speaking to NBS Television however, the NUP spokesperson, Joel Ssenyonyi said that they will not back off the red colour as this is provided for by the party constitution which they presented to the EC.

Ssenyonyi said: "The NUP party constitution provides for three colours; colour red, colour while and colour navy blue. The EC are the supervisors of political parties like ours and they have our constitution well stamped and in their custody with all the three colours. They've never said no to that."

Ssenyonyi said that he had a chance to have a look at the UPC party constitution and it provides for three colours: red, blue and black. No where in their constitution, he said, does it talk about dominant colour being red.

"As it stands, we are using our three colours because we are not using some alien colours that are not in our constitution," Ssenyonyi added.

In a bitter exchange, UPC president, Jimmy Akena, said NUP was trying to be a wiseacre.