By Nasser Kasozi Akandwanaho
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has on Tuesday morning hours been nominated as the official Presidential Flag Bearer for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) at the Party Electoral Commission head offices in Kyadondo, Kampala.
Museveni was duly nominated as the NRM National chairman and Presidential Flag Bearer by the party Electoral Commission Chairperson Dr. Tanga Odoi.
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) chairperson for electoral commission Dr.Tanga Odoi has presided over the event of nominating president Museveni as both the NRM chairperson position and also a presidential flag bearer as a sole candidate for 2021 general elections at headquarters at Kyaddondo in Kampala.
“On behalf of the NRM electoral commission, we hereby declare that Yoweri K Museveni is duly nominated for the position of National Chairman of NRM” Odoi announced.
President Museveni has already been declared the sole candidate for the NRM chairman seat and is unchallenged as flag bearer after last Wednesday deadline elapsed with no one else picking nomination forms.
Dr.Tanga also said that, former Makindye MP John Ssimbwa had announced intentions to stand against president Museveni, but failed to adhere to the rules set by the party electoral commission. He was disqualified and has since threatened to drag the party to court.
“He didn’t commit himself even by paying expression of interest fees. We don’t deal with political dreamers. You can’t come to politics when you are not ready.
In his speech, the president whose voice is rough says he started feeling the rough voice on Sunday and feared it was COVID-19. “On Sunday I started feeling some sore throat and rough voice, my first call was Corona-19. So I called the doctors early Sunday, they took the sample and by evening they came back, said no corona. Apparently there is also another bacteria which can cause a hoarse voice that was also not there” Museveni explained.
NRM Flag Bearer dully nominated President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni with First Lady Jenet Kataha Museveni at the party Headquarters on Tuesday.
Museveni said that in the NRM Manifesto, the party will emphasize a regional integration, regional market. Adding that a simple disease like COVID-19 is not easy to control because every country was doing something different. He says the integration should be a strategic goal and that East Africa should be managed together with a common goal.
The president further warned Ugandans who are still going against the COVID-19 guidelines that they will die. Adding that the two deaths registered by Uganda are just the beginning and that more would come.
Uganda has so far registered two COVID-19 related cases of a 34 year old woman in Namisindwa district and an 80 year old woman in Mengo. The President says these deaths could have been easily avoided if Ugandans adhered to the guidelines of the Ministry of health.
President Museveni is the only member of the NRM that sought the seat of party presidential flag bearer and party chairman.
NRM Election calendar:
July 20: Secretary General Hands over register of 11.9m NRM voters to the party’s Electoral Commission
July 20-22: Picking of expression of interest and nomination forms for presidential flag bearer, national chairperson and vice chairpersons
July 27-28: Nominations for presidential flag bearer, national chairperson and vice chairpersons
July 30-August 5: CEC and NEC vets presidential flag bearer, national chairperson and vice chairpersons
August 7-8: National Delegates’ conference in line with Covid-19 guidelines to elect presidential flag bearer, national chairperson and vice chairpersons
July 23-31: Online expression of interest and picking nomination forms for Woman MPs, directly elected MPs, LC 5 chairpersons and city mayors.
August 10-11: Nominations at Party EC headquarters for Woman MP, directly elected MPs, LC 5 Chairpersons and city mayors for Western region.
