‘In spite of all the mischief, DP members were determined to change the leadership of DP from its marauding captors” says Dr. Lulume Bayigga”.

By Our Reporter:

PARLIAMENT – Hon. Dr. Lulume Bayigga has issued a message of defiance, rejecting the results of the recently concluded DP election marred by vote-rigging as Norrbert Mao brace for a fourth term as DP President.

“The last three months saw us grappling with opaque process to the National Delegates Conference organized by Mr. Rutagwera and Mr. Siranda under Mr. Norbert Mao, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the NRM government” Dr. Lulume told reporters at Parliament, on Thursday, shortly after returning to office from Mbarara.

Lulume said he considered himself the winner, not Mao, and described the election as massively rigged. “Let me make it clear, Mr. Mao and his executive are not leading the DP you all know. What they lead is a DPNRM cocktail party,” he said. “As of now we are consulting widely and carefully on our next steps.”

Other contestant Elia Elitia is considering petitioning court to invalidate Mao’s victory saying that the National Delegates Conference was characterized with vote-rigging, disfranchisements, ballot staffing, irregularities and many illegalities.

Mao, who is now facing the deepest crisis of his 15 years at the helm of DP, has threatened to crush any party member who does not support the DP-NRM Cooperation Agreement and his alliance with President Museveni. He once claimed that there other elements who have been sponsoring his opponents to oust him from DP leadership, singling out some NRM top officials whom Mao claims that they are threatened that once elected to DP office, there cabinet and political offices are in jeopardy.

Dr. Lulume released a statement on Wednesday evening rejecting the outcomes of the elections at the NDC and vowed to take the matter to court, undertake rigorous branch consultation to ensure that the DP leaders are well consulted on the matter among others.

The DP Election Presiding officer Kennedy Muyenyo announced late on Monday that Mao had won 73.1% of the vote while Lulume took 26.1%, with Elitia just 0.08% despite a popular wave of support for Anti-Mao opposition candidates, whose support have drawn some of the Party’s largest support for any candidate against Mao in the last 15 years.

Similar, preliminary disqualification of Hon. Richard Sebamala on Sunday prompted unprecedented protests and chaos, posing the greatest threat to Mao and his team.

Police clobbered many DP members in Sunday’s bloody clashes that left Hon. Fred Kayondo sustain head injuries and nursing wounds by Mao’s Kanyamas. He was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

It is not clear where Mao leadership drama and his shotgun marriage with NRM will leave the party and whether the next move for the few DP MPs will define the party’s future.

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