The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) will not front lord Mayor Erias Lukwago as party Presidential Candidate, neither Patrick Amuriat nor Nandala Mafabi as earlier suggested by an account peddled by a faction of the party.
Instead the party top brass has embarked on a search of an outsider who could work as a link between the FDC and NRM in managing a transition that is likely to see the two parties end up in a power sharing agreement.
“This is the plan the FDC has come out with for 2021 elections after our founder Kizza Besigye made it categorically clear that he will not participate in the coming election which he thinks won’t solve Uganda’s problem,” a top official in the party told this website on condition of anonymity.
However, the party is still hole up in a huge crisis considering that a potential candidate who exudes these qualities has not been found.
Earlier reports had suggested that the party opted to choose from three strong pillars- Lukwago, Mafabi and the current president Amuriat to contest against Museveni in 2021.
This narrative was further quantified by the unveiling of Erias Lukwago who officially joined FDC on Tuesday which aroused excitement across the country with many FDC supporters predicting that Lukwago will hold the party’s flag and will comb the country alongside Kizza Besigye, who influenced his defection into his establishment.
Lukwago is Besigye’s confidant. The two have braved state brutality for close to a decade.
“Instead we want to bring Lukwago on party presidency when Amuriat’s term comes to an end,” adds a source.
By bringing Lukwago, FDC will have neutralized dancehall musician Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi) whose arrival into politics has greatly lessened FDC support in Kampala.
“It is only Lukwago who can reclaim our support in Kampala,” said a source.
The FDC spokesperson Hon Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda however, dismissed this narrative as “speculation” saying that the FDC has nominations for Presidential Candidates next week.
“So why are you saying the FDC is considering fronting an outsider?”
He was quick to add that the aspirants come to FDC not the other way round.
“Why should FDC go to ask a candidate to contest?”
But this website reminded Hon Ssemujju that the FDC leadership has a couple of times implored the founder Kizza Besigye to stand and challenge Museveni in elections.
As to why FDC is hunting for an outsider to take the flag, a separate source privy to the ongoing search revealed that the rationale is to have someone who will not cling on to power after succeeding in having a transition.
“Someone who is an insider once we seal a deal with NRM he/ she could become like other leaders who don’t want to quit power. Yet our plan is to have a transition and the person leading this transition steps down.”