There is emerging information that the combined opposition in Uganda has this morning started the process of finding a joint flag bearer for the 2016 elections.
Information trekking in is that the selection process is being carried out in Nairobi, Kenya. It is not clear why the opposition has opted for a foreign capital for this all important event, but fingers are being pointed at fear of possible infiltration by NRM moles, intimidation and other challenges that might stifle the holding of a peaceful assembly.
Whether this process delivers for the opposition the desired effect, there are concerns that the Opposition is divided. And, given that any opposition is regarded as a Government in waiting, it is pertinent that they show a level of cohesion that will leave the citizens in no doubt about their capacity to run the affairs of state.
But Alas! This is not to be, if one considers that most of the opposition parties seem to be in disarray.
The oldest political organization in the country, the Democratic Party, the Uganda People’s Congress and the Forum for Democratic Change are all embroiled in internal power struggles that might have the notorious effect of denying them a clear shot at ruling Uganda.
And one can say that the opposition has learnt nothing from Uganda’s electioneering processes, and possibly forgotten everything that can bring them to power, because these internal power squabbles in the opposition date back a long way, they can be traced to the 1996 elections, the first time the opposition failed to field a joint presidential candidate, with each party thinking it had the capacity to take on Yoweri Museveni and the NRM.
But since they are in Kenya, they can possibly reach out to members of the former National Rainbow Coalition, NARC, which managed to pull off the challenging issue of fielding a joint presidential candidate. That candidate was none other that Mwai Kibaki, who ousted long serving Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi.
