Towards the end of the year, there were efforts to organize elections in political parties -but it was only FDC and NRM that pronouncedly succeeded. Some political parties fronted leaders -with no record of having been democratically elected. This leaves a question as to whether some “political parties,” today, are functioning as non-government organization or just distracters.
In every electioneering attempt, there has been a challenge of procedure -not being effectively used to bringing in the right people to make a valuable party structures. In some others , money was at the center of influencing voter decision-making, which ended up providing pre-determined outcomes. Architects to such argued that the motive was to save party strength in furthering its ambitions.
In the past ten years, the above challenge inflicted UPC party and culminated into factionalism, gossip clubs, sacking of rebel members, and defections. To this moment, the party has not recovered; its state is worsened by lack of vibrancy and parochialism. DP's challenges did not stop with the youth wingers and the parent party taking parallel paths, events ended with birth of a new party (SDP) led by Michael Mabikke -while other members -as usual -defected to the ruling party (NRM).
After making plans to hold internal elections towards the end of the year (2009), it all came to nothing -with further squabbling among members. Lack of transparency has tended to crop from political parties on its way to the national governance level. It is however important consideration that increased number of Ugandans feel ready to take up political positions -in absence of assurance as to whether their decision is in mutual interest with the nation or just selfishness at play. There are politicians in Uganda -who still call it an investment rather than a sacrifice.
In the nineties, there were opposition party politicians -who took the challenge to face the most fierce president in Uganda post-war era. Through their efforts, they helped create breathing space -politically. The price to them was expulsion from their parties to no more. So one wonders what really Ugandan opposition politicians want -if they can choose to route out their best “fighters” and fail to organise themselves into formidable political parties.
Today -in most of them -one can only listen to the last sound of a dying hen. It is unbelievable seeing self-destruction of these political parties like bottled grasshoppers choosing to cope by eating each other up -a kind of internal party “cannibalism.” Why, then, should they waste their time and that of Ugandans?
Opposition political parties forget that being the face of a political organization takes the high sense of marketability. A political party like UPC chooses to chose a wife to former party president as an inheritance gesture and commemoration act of the late former president Milton Obote.
Senseless of the demonic references to the late president for twenty years, UPC's club of the elderly still thought it was the best decision. Well -it is -as stated before -a constituent or home of the elderly. Was it wise to use the current choice of leadership to promote party interests nationally and internationally? If every Ugandan accessed genuine reports from them, they would find UPC discouraging.
And if it was in the era of coup d'etats and revolutions, they would have been forced out. As if they sensed that, they were very careful at involving the youth: the most visionary, dynamic and activism character. To help revamp the political parties, DP made its contribution by resting a very prominent personality in the name of Kawanga Semwogerere -and it continues to undergo ecdysis.
Other political parties like UPC too will need to start the process by throwing away is nostalgic outlook and coping with the contemporary times -a rebirth that could make it look new or young party. Probably -as part of cleansing -there will be no problem with re-baptizing itself or re-branding; and fighting political corruption should begin from political party roots. It can be called business politics at work. We must note that political party success is about marketability. Besides the issue of term limits, why would one get surprised when Museveni is made face of NRM in spite its huge membership?
Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analysis
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com
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