IPC NOT TRANSPARENT SAYS UPC

Friday, 20th August, 2010
By Jeff Lule
The opposition Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) coalition on Wednesday appeared to be on the verge of collapse as officials from one of the parties accused its leaders of not being transparent. The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party’s secretary general, Joseph Bossa, said there were many loopholes in the coalition that UPC needs to discuss before taking part in the nominations. “We have important concerns to do with good faith and transparency that we need to address in a very serious manner with the IPC summit. After reaching an understanding, then we shall have our candidate nominated,” Bossa told journalists at a press briefing. IPC is a loose coalition of five political parties which seeks to front a single candidate to dislodge President Yoweri Museveni from power in next year’s elections. But faultlines have already emerged in the alliance, which has been shunned by the Democratic Party. Bbosa said they have called for the meeting of IPC summit to agree on the way forward. On Tuesday, anxiety gripped members of the opposition after UPC’s leader, Olara Otunnu, failed to turn up for nominations of the 2011 joint candidate at Kololo Airstrip. However, UPC’s presidential envoy, Patrick Mwondha, told the gathering that the warrant of arrest issued by a magistrate in Lira district prevented Otunnu from participation. FDC president Kizza Besigye, Makerere University lecturer Prof. James Kigongo (Conservative Party), Makindye West MP Hussein Kyanjo (Justice Forum) and Makindye East MP Michael Mabikke (Social Democratic Party) were successfully nominated. Otunnu was given up to Monday to hand in his papers for nominations. Bossa explained that apart from the on-going court case, Otunnu had travelled to London before the official nomination date was communicated. Joseph Ochieno, a member of UPC, said Besigye had turned the IPC into an FDC thing. “Main positions in IPC are headed by FDC members while other parties are given small positions,” Ochieno noted. Otunnu’s press secretary, Robert Kanusu, said IPC should not give deadlines to any one for nominations if it is a focused coalition.