KAMPALA — The Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), a grouping of political parties with representation in Parliament , has asked the opposition the National Unity Platform (NUP) to formally write an Expression of Interest before being admitted into the dialogue framework .
This comes days after NUP leaders said they were ready to sign an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IPOD –an arrangement the former had earlier vowed not to be part of .
In a letter dated October 10, 2025, IPOD Executive Director Mr Lawrence Sserwambala Kabagabe welcomed NUP’s move as “a positive step toward strengthening Uganda’s multiparty democracy,” but clarified that formal admission requires compliance with the organisation’s procedures.
“The process of joining IPOD is distinct from simply signing the MoU,” Dr. Kabagabe wrote to NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya.
“A political party eligible for joining IPOD shall express its interest in writing to the Secretary Council, stating its intent to participate in the objectives and obligations of the organisation.”
He said the written expression marks the first legal and procedural step, after which the IPOD Council will consider and approve the application before signing can take place.
Once submitted, the request will be processed under the Political Parties and Organisations Act (as amended), which governs inter-party dialogue in Uganda.
The development follows NUP’s surprise decision to join IPOD after years of boycott. The shift came after President Museveni assented to the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Act in June 2025, which requires all registered parties to belong either to IPOD or the Forum for Non-Represented Political Parties to qualify for state funding.
The Shs3.1 billion annual Political Parties Fund is now accessible only to fully registered IPOD members. Under the previous framework, NUP received around Shs800 million annually, but risked losing it due to its refusal to participate after signing an MoU as stipulated in the new law .
Recently NUP dragged IPOD to court protesting its decision to exclude them from receiving the funding .
The High Court in Kampala has since set October 29, 2025 as date to deliver its ruling on the matter .
President Museveni assented to the amendment in June 2025, which ties access to the Shs3.1 billion political parties’ fund to IPOD participation. Under the previous framework, NUP received about Shs800 million annually ,but risked losing it after refusing to join IPOD.
Jailed deputy NUP spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro had earlier remarked:
“To hell with their IPOD money. We will not participate in IPOD, we will not engage in forceful dialogues. We are not driven by funding but by the determination to end this tyrannical rule.”