{UAH} Pojim/WBK: NRM's Museveni pulls out of presidential debate
|
6:12 PM |
No comments |
NRM's Museveni pulls out of presidential debate
Ruling party presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni will not attend the January 15 televised presidential debate at Serena hotel according to National Resistance Movement Campaign Task force spokesperson, Mike Sebalu.
Sebalu says Museveni will be holding three rallies in Bushenyi and Mitooma districts on the scheduled date of the debate.
"According to our campaign programme, the rallies end late and there is no time to travel from those districts as there are far apart from Kampala where the debate is going to take place...We cant change our campaign programme for unplanned, unprepared events... We respect and value even the lowest of our supporters and we can't abandon them to go to Serena hotel to take wine, take tea, chat, waste time", he said.
Last year, Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate Kizza Besigye challenged Museveni to a presidential debate to which the president promptly accepted. He said then on November 23, 2015 during a press briefing:
"In debating with Besigye or anybody else, I have no problem. You can see I am mobile with my mouth. I don't leave it at home. If I left my mouth at home I would be concerned. So am ready for Besigye, for Mbabazi, for anybody. From here or from far"
But shortly after, former prime minister and NRM secretary general Amama Mbabazi said the president "did not mean it" when he said he would participate in the debate.
The Inter–Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), the organisers of the debate last week claimed that all the eight presidential candidates in Kizza Besigye (FDC), Abed Bwanika (People's Development Party), Amama Mbabazi (independent), Venansius Baryamureeba (independent), Maj Gen Benon Biraaro (Farmers Party of Uganda), Yoweri Museveni (NRM), Maureen Kyalya/Joseph Mabirizi (joint independent) had all confirmed participation.
However, as it became increasing clear that the NRM candidate may not show up, IRCU announced that they will not allow representation at the debate if a candidate were unable to make it.
Besigye has advised the IRCU to have the presidential debate rescheduled to a later date - convenient enough for President Museveni to attend. It is not immediately clear if the IRCU will heed to Besigye's suggestion.
"Each candidate will interrogate the others and they will have to prove their allegations before the people of Uganda. If anyone fails to defend himself satisfactorily, then the people will know he is a [liar]. There will be intellectual clashes, not physical clashes," said Justice James Ogoola of the Elders Forum of Uganda (TEFU), the co-organisers of the debate.
The debate is set to be moderated by BBC's Allan Kasujja and KTN's Nancy Kacungira. The pair will be backed by a team of researchers who will ensure that issue-based and probing questions are asked the candidates.
0 comments:
Post a Comment