Museveni calls off meeting with opposition leaders

Although Secretaries General of the invited political parties had arrived on cue for the meeting at the President’s country home in Rwakitura, President Museveni sent word that he would not be able to meet them as previously planned.

According to the Senior Presidential Press Secretary, Linda Nabusayi, the President is neck-deep in preparations for his forthcoming end of year national address and therefore asked for a postponement.

“The IPOD Secretaries General meeting has been postponed to a later date in January. The president is preparing for his national address on COVID-19 update (sic) which will be delivered at the same time with the annual New year’s message on Friday,”Ms Nabusayi said.

“He needs enough time with the IPOD Secretaries General, so he requested for a postponement,” she added.

A fresh date for the meeting of the president and party secretariats will be communicated in January, she said.

IPOD is a dialogue platform for all political parties represented in the Uganda parliament. It was formed by political parties to enhance cooperation and collaboration across party lines as commitment was made towards “Putting Uganda First.”

Made up of the Council of Secretaries General of parties and the Summit of Leaders, IPOD seeks to shape the experience of democracy outside the voting booth through dialogue.

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has shunned IPOD in the past, however, describing it as a mere window dressing for the authoritarianism of President Museveni’s rule, and the National Unity Platform (NUP), which leads the opposition in parliament, has voiced similar sentiments. 

“In our assessment, the NRM-led Government has turned IPOD into a forum in which party principals meet for a cup of tea followed by a photo opportunity, while serious discussions about the future of the country have been denied audience with the platform,” NUP Secretary General, Lewis Rubongoya said recently.

The cross-party representation in parliament stands as follows: 337 NRM MPs, NUP 57, FDC 32, Democratic Party (DP) 9, the same number as Uganda People’s Congress. Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) has 2 while Justice Forum (JEEMA) and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) have 1 MP each. 73 legislators are designated as independents.