Yesterday, members of the opposition in Parliament walked out, protesting against the debate of electoral reforms.
Currently, Uganda is undergoing an important metamorphosis in its political life and there is need for all stakeholders to approach national matters with caution and guided restraint.
The type of political contest obtaining in Uganda espoused today seemingly lacks maturity, with opposing sides usually exhibiting tendencies of intolerance towards each other, and in the process hurting the aspirations of millions of the citizenry.
Indeed, since Independence in 1962, Uganda has never had any peaceful change of government and this should be a matter of concern for all Ugandans because several lives have been lost and property of unquantifiable costs destroyed.
That notwithstanding, it is pertinent to note that both the opposition and government sides’ intentions are hinged on national progress and none of the two groups should claim it has the monopoly of ideas capable of turning around the country in the spur of a moment.
It is against such a background that both parties, the opposition and the ruling party, the NRM, set out to seek and collate information and views from the citizenry, about the best governance practices expected of the Government of Uganda.
As expected, the people poured out their hearts and if we are to go by the Constitution, Article 1 denotes the importance of the citizenry to determine their future.
However, it is also true that not all recommendations by either party will attract favourite response by the opposite side, something that calls for a sober and tactical approach to resolve.
Indeed, the stakeholders should avoid confrontation at the expense of dialogue and social cohesion, both key ingredients to national development.
This therefore means that the differences between our political players should not act as a hindrance to finding a common position, one that can pave the way for a stable and peaceful country that is the pride of every citizen.
