Opposition proposes joint candidate in Omoro by-election

Omoro, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Opposition is mooting plans to nominate a joint candidate to contest with the National Resistance Movement party candidate in the Omoro county parliamentary by-election.

This comes a day after President Museveni picked 32-year-old Andrew Ojok Oulanyah, the eldest son of the former legislator and Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah to hold the NRM flag in Omoro County.

The President made the decision after meeting five other NRM aspirants at his country home in Rwakitura on Tuesday.

At least four opposition aspirants have expressed interest to vie for the Omoro parliamentary seat. They are Terrence Odonga and Dick Denis Owani, all from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, Godwin Okello from the Democratic Party (DP), and Oscar Kizza of Alliance for National Transformation (ANT).

Chagga Oyat, the FDC coordinator in Acholi sub-region however says whereas they have strong candidates, they are looking at the possibility of fronting a joint candidate against NRM.

Oyat notes that fronting a single candidate in Omoro County will help the opposition defeat the NRM. He however says the candidates selected from each of the opposition political camps will undergo vetting before a winner is declared to hold the joint opposition flag.

Robert Mugabe, the spokesperson of ANT in the Acholi sub-region says the proposal is a welcome move that will help the opposition garner victory in Omoro district. He however says the choice of the joint candidate must be conducted in a free and fair manner.

Justine Simpleman Obol, the spokesperson of DP in Gulu City says the party hasn’t yet made a decision of supporting a joint candidate. He however says the idea is a good move for the opposition party in ensuring a win against the NRM.

Caesar Lubangakene, the National Unity Platform (NUP) Northern Regional Spokesperson in an earlier interview noted that they were yet to hold discussions to come out with their candidate or support another candidate.

Omoro County Parliamentary seat fell vacant in March this year following the death of Oulanyah from Seattle in the United States of America (USA).

The nomination of candidates in the Omoro County Parliamentary race will take place from May 12th to May 13, 2022, at Omoro District Council Hall while campaigns will take place from May 16th-24th, 2022 according to the Electoral commission road map. The election will be conducted on May 26.

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