MASAKA.
With less than 24 hours to Democratic Party (DP) delegates conference ,one of the four contenders for the party presidency Richard Sebamala has revealed that he has secured his own list of delegates .
This comes days after members in Mr Sebamala’s camp claimed that the party secretariat was not releasing the final list of delegates ,which is viewed as ploy to manipulate the electoral process ahead of the D-Day.
On Wednesday , tempers flared at DP headquarters in Kampala , as chaotic scenes erupted ahead of a scheduled press conference by Mr Mao .
Party members forced their way into the premises, disrupting preparations for the event and prompting heavy police deployment.
Sebamala’s supporters clashed with those loyal to Mao, accusing the incumbent leadership of planning to exclude rival factions from the Friday polls .
They claimed that there was no transparency in the list of delegates cleared to vote on Friday. Several party members engaged in physical scuffles before police officers arrived to restore order. Last Mao addressed the media and announced that Sebamala had been kicked out of the race over failure to me certain criteria .
Addressing Journalists in Masaka City hours before leaving for Mbarara ,Mr Sebamala stressed that he has confidence that delegates will vote for him to become the 8th DP president .
“When they denied us a chance to look at the list of delegates ,I quickly mobilized by team and we traversed the whole country where delegates are , and we managed to talk to all of them . We have generated our own list and all the delegates have promised to be in Mbarara tomorrow (Friday) ,”he said
He also dismissed as baseless reports by some DP top leaders that he had been removed from the presidential race on account that he has not been a member for 10 years as stipulated in the party constitution .
“Whoever insinuates that Sebamala is new in DP and doesn’t quality to stand for president needs to be having a problem and needs a quick mental check up ,since 2015 I have been actively involved in DP activities and I was once the district party treasurer ,” he said
Mr Lumu , the DP acting legal advisor explained that it is only the party delegates conference which can disqualify a contender ,not current leaders who are seeking re-election .
“Article 11 of DP constitution empowers the delegates conference, the supreme decision making organ of the party to decide on who stands in an internal election and who shouldn’t ,not Mao or Gerald Siranda(party secretary general) .So, when the delegates convene in Mbarara they will draw the agenda of the day and guide on the way forward ,” he said
Over 1,500 people are expected in Mbarara for the DP delegates’ conference scheduled for Friday where members are will change party leadership .The incumbent party president and also Minister for Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao is seeking re-election but critics say the 15 years he has been at the helm of DP are enough and need to retire .
Other contenders for the party presidency include Buikwe South MP Dr Michael Lulume Bayiga and DP vice President for northern Uganda ,Mr Alia Alitia .
Delegates and other invited guests started arriving in Mbarara on Thursday for the two day conference, which will take place at Asamar Hotel in Mbarara City.
The conference is expected to elect party leaders and shape the party’s democratic future.
According to Mr Siranda,over Shs2b has been put aside to cater for delegates and invited guests.
He emphasized that no member will attend the conference without an official invitation and warned that some individuals were attempting to sabotage the event.
The conference will be held under the theme ‘Constructive Engagement as an Alternative to Uganda’, and stressed the importance of working with other political parties and players to define a peaceful, democratic path for the country.