The soon-to-be-announced Local Council I and II elections have turned out to be a nightmare for the crippling Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) as political analysts anticipate what they have termed a fresh crack on the FDC party raising from the move by the Katonga and Najjanankumbi factions to declare strong interest in the said elections around the country.
On Tuesday, October 10, 2023, while speaking at the press conference held at the FDC offices at Katonda Road in Kampala, Erias Lukwago, the president of the interim leadership, said that they are going to actively participate in the LC I and II elections to mobilise and reorient their supporters. He added that he will soon issue the programme that will guide them during the elections.
On the contrary, on Monday, October 16, 2023, Boniface Toterebuka Bamwenda, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission at Najja, called upon FDC members from the village to the district to take up the responsibility and begin identifying candidates in the over 72,000 villages countrywide ahead of the LC I and II elections.
“We have come across an LC1 and 2 election roadmap on social media platforms. Even when the National Electoral Commission has not yet written to us, we call upon FDC members from village to district to take up the responsibility and begin identifying candidates”, said Toterebuka, the Electoral Chairperson of the Najja faction.
The controversy between Katonga and Najjanankumbi has left grassroots party supporters in a state of confusion and division as they ponder on which faction to support.
According to Dr. Patrick Wakida, a political analyst, the move by the two FDC factions to participate in the local council elections has created a serious crack from the top to the bottom of the FDC party that is beyond repair.
The FDC’s internal strife shows no signs of abating, leaving institutions grappling with the challenging decision of recognising which faction holds the rightful authority within the party.