Humanist

Hello Ija, Ajakait calls out on the phone.

Hello Ajakait, I respond, and she goes straight to the point:

By the way, yesterday I was wrong, apparently NUP actually do have a manifesto, which they launched. It had been one of those best kept secrets, I wonder why, she adds.

As I was saying, let me first talk about the parties who have fielded presidential candidates and their candidates, before I return to the issue of manifestos. May be by then I will have been able to access them.

Its okay, Ajakait, you go on. I nudge her to continue and she goes:

Of the eight political parties that have fielded presidential candidates, only three actually have members of parliament (MPs) in the 11th Parliament. Can you believe that?

Yes, I can Ajakait and it is public knowledge …

So, what are we on about, Ajakait interjects.

The ruling party, NRM, has nearly four times of MPs in the 11th Parliament than of the other two parties – NUP and FDC combined. So, what are we on about, Ajakait asks again.

By the way, the other five parties are not new parties they are old parties, which were not able to even have one MP in the 11th Parliament. Now they are here fielding a presidential candidate, seriously, Ajakait rants on.

These are the facts:

• National Resistance Movement (NRM) of Candidate Museveni Kagutta Yoweri has 342 MPs in the 11th Parliament.
• National Unity Platform (NUP) of Candidate Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert has 57 MPs in the 11th Parliament.
• Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) of Candidate Nandala Mafabi Nathan James has 30 MPs in 11th Parliament.
• Conservative Party (CP) of Mabirizi Joseph has 0 MPs in the 11th Parliament,
• Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) of Candidate Mugisha Muntu Gregory has 0 MPs in the 11th Parliament.
• National Peasants’ Party of Candidate Kasibante Robert has 0 MPs in the 11th Parliament.
• Common Man’s Party of Candidate Munyagwa Mubarak has 0 MPs in the 11th Parliament.
• Revolutionary People’s Party of Candidate Bulira Kabinga Frank has 0 MPs in the 11th Parliament.

So, what are we on about, Ajakait asks again.

Are we to believe that this time round, they will be able to garner more MPs and reduce the number of the NRM MPs? Or is the competition among the ‘opposition parties’ competing for the 87 MPs? Ajakait asks rhetorically.

Anyway, let me go and read the manifestos and see what these parties are even claiming they will do for us. Bye for now, Ajakait brings the conversation to a close.

Okay Ajakait, I say, it is always good to stick to fact-based discourse and not mere speculation.