Uganda’s opposition courts Besigye to give presidential race another go

KAMPALA. — Uganda’s opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leaders and founding members are courting Kizza Besigye to be the party’s presidential flag bearer in the 2021 presidential elections, the Daily Monitor reports.

However, high placed sources in FDC said the party had not formally approached Besigye on the matter, but its top hierarchy has been contacting him to contest against President Yoweri Museveni, the likely NRM flag bearer, for the fifth time.

A source at the FDC headquarters, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the

Daily Monitor that there were still high-level negotiations by both the internal and external leaders in the party to have DBesigye hold the party flag in the 2021 elections.

The source said although Besigye had not given them his final decision on his candidature, he expressed reluctance to contest in 2021, alleging that the vote would be rigged like in the previous elections.

The founder members and the current leadership have all reportedly been requesting him to stand against President Museveni.

“Even our local supporters have been reaching out to him,” the source revealed.

“Besigye, however, has a lot of reservations on elections because he still looks at it as a ceremonial ritual that cannot yield anything big,” the source added.

FDC president Patrick Amuriat, on Monday said the party had not yet met Besigye officially, but they were slated to meet him any time soon over the matter.

“We are looking for the party presidential candidate at the moment. If there are some people who have met Besigye to ask him to be the party flag bearer, we do not have any problem with that,” Amuriat said. — Daily Monitor.