KAMPALA – Opposition lynchpin Dr Kizza Besigye has said that he could not participate in the 2021 presidential election that has already declared the incumbent, Yoweri Museveni, the winner.
Addressing FDC leaders and supporters at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala, on Wednesday, 19 August 2020, Dr Besigye said there is no way the Justice Simon Byabakama-led Electoral Commission can deliver a free and fair election.
“This country will not be freed by Byabakama Electoral Commission declaring a new winner who isn’t Mr. Museveni; and that Museveni will come to Kololo with his hat and hand over power to the winner. Those who are waiting that Mr. Museveni will one day come and thank Ugandans for all the things that we have done for him, he will never do so,” he said.
Dr Besigye has been holding the party flag in all the previous elections, first in 2001 under the Reform Agenda pressure group which later morphed into FDC in 2004. He contested again in 2006, 2011 and 2016.
The four-time presidential candidate for FDC was in 2006 elections nominated in absentia.
But on Wednesday, he said that he will not offer himself in the 2021 elections, saying that he is going for Plan B.
“We are at the crossroads when the junta is organising elections to legitimize themselves. In 2016, I was engaging two gears, one for elections and another for defiance/fighting. That is not very efficient. Election gears are our Plan A, the fighting gears are our plan B. And Plan B is quite wide and involving. It’s my humble decision that I have intensively discussed with my colleagues that we get somebody to lead Plan A and you leave Plan B for me. Never ever imagine that I can leave the struggle. Never,” he said.
FDC Party President Patrick Oboi Amuriat and Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa are the only two candidates who picked presidency nomination forms and will vie for the position.
Dr Besigye said the Presidential candidate will pursue “Plan A” while he executes “Plan B” which he believes is very critical in weakening and causing the fall of Museveni junta.
“If we felt that moving with both plans is most effective, may be we would have considered it, but trust my judgement: this country will not be freed by Byabakama Electoral Commission declaring a new winner who isn’t Mr. Museveni; and that Museveni will come to Kololo with his hat and hand over power to the winner. Those who are waiting that Mr. Museveni will one day come and thank Ugandans for all the things that we have done for him, he will never do so,” he said.
Although Besigye said Plan B will support Plan A, he called on all forces of change to join the fight.
“We are building a strong front for change. It is our duty to make sure Mr. Museveni leaves, whether he wants it all not. That duty is very urgent”, he said, adding “the fight is on. You must listen to Channel/Plan A and Channel/Plan B. Plan B will support plan A fully.”
Besigye says it’s the fighters that will determine where the country goes saying “all fighters can vote, but not all voters can fight.”
He also showed his vote of confidence in the FDC leaders present, and endorsing POA and Birigwa vying for the FDC flag.
“I have high confidence in our leaders here today. Omulongo Wasswa Birigwa is not new to the challenges of Plan A. He has been in the trenches in the country here and abroad as an Ambassador. He is has networks that we need at this critical moment” Besigye said about Birigwa.
For Amuriat, Besigye said: “I don’t need to talk much about our president, the one and only POA. He has been in National politics for decades, and there is no corner of this country that he doesn’t know. He also had experience in public service. POA is also a quiet and decisive person. Some people mistake his demeanor as being a push over. Well, those who tried know how it ended. If there are people out there who underestimate him, think again because he is full of surprises. He came from wherever in those humble situations and finds a General, Former commander of Armed forces leading a strong party, and in short time things change, is not a mean achievement.”
Besigye said POA doesn’t command from behind but commands from the front.
“In a short time things change, it’s no mean achievement. I have absolutely have no doubt that POA fits the bill. The few years he has been in charge of the party, he has never left the Frontline. Where ever there has been a tough area, POA has been there.”
