KAMPALA.It is now clear that President of Democratic Front ( DF) , Mathias Mpuuga will seek re-election in Nyendo-Mukungwe constituency ,Masaka City ,after the party indicated that it will not field a presidential candidate in next year’s General Election .
This ends a year-long speculation that Mpuuga will give his first shot at the presidency.
DF is one of the newly formed political parties with key of its top leaders defecting from the largest opposition party – National Unity Platform (NUP) .
Addressing Journalists at DF headquarters in Kampala on Saturday, Mpuuga ,50 who is seeking a fourth term in Parliament, said the party National Council found it pointless to take part in a process whose result is predetermined .
“…the DF National Council is concerned that Presidential elections since 1996 are organized in a skewed manner to advantage a particular candidate –Yoweri Museveni.
They are a mere ritual with pre-determined result . To participate without addressing the flaws would be to lend credibility to a sham process.,” he said ,adding “ Therefore in view of the foregoing , it is resolved that DF shall not present a candidate at the level of President at the 2026 General Election .”
The formation of DF followed Mpuuga’s widely publicized fallout with the NUP leadership last year , sparked by a controversial Shs500 million “service award” he received as parliamentary commissioner. While NUP labeled the payout as an abuse of office and demanded his resignation, Mpuuga stood his ground, insisting he had done nothing wrong.
Mr Mpuuga ,who a former NUP vice president for Buganda Region joins other party presidents like Norbert Mao of Democratic Party , People’s Front for Freedom(PFF) ‘s Erias Lukwago and others who are standing for president in next year’s elections .
But unlike Mpuuga who insists that he will rally behind any president candidate, Lukwago ,who also doubles Kampala City Lord Mayor will support a joint candidate which NUP and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) will decide .
Back in Nyendo-Mukungwe Constituency ,Mpuuga is already facing an uphill take to retain the seat with over five aspirants jostling to uproot him . These include ; Kampala City lawyer ,Sam Muyizzi ,
Alice Nannungi,the incumbent Woman Councilor representing Nyendo-Mukungwe Municipality at Masaka City Council , Gyaviira Lubowa Ssebina, an accountant and a deputy bursar at Makerere University – both NUP learning aspirants , Racheal Nakitende , the ruling National Resistance Movement flag bearer and more aspirants are yet to join the race .
Nyendo-Mukungwe Municipality is one of the two constituencies in Masaka City ( the other being Kimaanya-Kabonera ) which were created ahead of 2021 elections . It has more than 70,000 registered voters.