By Gilbert Aguma
As the days come close, the race to replace late speaker Jacob Oulanyah in Omoro has pitted the NRM against a multitude of opposition candidates.
It is no longer a public secret, every political party now wants a piece of late Oulanyah’s county.
The ruling NRM were the first to come out publicly throwing their weight behind Oulanyah’s son Andrew Ojok, and they speak with confidence that they have this in the bag.
“We are steadfast in the structures and strength of the party on Omoro, that district did not exist, NRM created it,” Emmanuel Dombo, the NRM Director information and publicity told The Homeland Newspaper website.
From his own son Andrew Ojok Oulanyah, to NUP’s Samson Tolit Okecha, who once defeated Jacob in 2006 to FDC’s Nixon Owana.
It appears that even the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) and the Democratic Party (DP) have joined the struggle to conquer Omoro come next month but who will come out on too?
Dombo said that as a party, they chose consensus building over primaries to avoid the divisive nature of politics.
He said that other political parties should have followed suit for the sake of Omoro.
“If the other parties wanted Omoro to be united, they should have left it for Oulanyah’s son and prepare for the next election,” he added.
Gilbert Olanya who is the Kilak South MP said that in Acholi politics, death may not necessarily yield sympathy so Ojok should not be over confident.
“It happened before when Col Walter Ochora died his son contested for MP Gulu and lost, people did not sympathize,” Olanya told Nile Post.
The Kilak south MP disagreed with Dombo on unity, saying the narrative of ring fencing the seat for Ojok is already causing chaos.
“Even on ground there is disgruntlement on how Ojok was picked. President Museveni just dictated,” he said.
The MP said that in parliament it is no different as the decision by NRM has left many divided.
What is happening in Omoro, according to the Kilak South MP, is a one of a kind occurrence.
However a Political Science lecturer and commentator Prof.Lumumba Bwire from Makerere University cast doubt in the continuity of succession politics saying its wrong and primitive that has to be fought in order to get leaders of charisma not political patronage.
“They always last one term. They lack the charisma of the fallen beloved ones,” Bwire said.
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