LC I elections: Why DP lost to NRM in Masaka

MASAKA. Democratic Party (DP) leaders in Masaka District are still entangled in thoughts after losing to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in the just concluded LC I elections in the district.
According to results from last Tuesday elections, NRM swept most villages in Masaka, a district that is traditionally a DP stronghold. Out of the 356 villages in the district, NRM won 179 seats (50.3 per cent) against DP’s 122 villages (34.3 per cent).

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) won only 13 villages (3.6 percent), while independents got 42 villages (11.8 per cent).
In Masaka Municipality, NRM also won in 26 villages while DP won in 23 villages in the three divisions of Katwe-Butego, Kimaanya –Kyabakuza and Nyendo-Ssenyange. FDC won only one village chairperson seat.

The LC election results clearly show a sharp contrast to what DP has been getting in the previous elections.
For example, in the 2011 parliamentary elections, Democratic Party candidates swept most constituencies in Masaka District and only lost in one constituency of Bukoto Central where vice president Edward Ssekandi trounced DP’s Joseph Batemyeto.

Political analysts blame DP’s loss on unending internal bickering in the party. Surprisingly, during LCI campaigns, some DP members were openly canvassing for NRM leaning independent candidates even when party district chairperson Fred Mukasa Mbidde financed campaigns for many party flag bearers in Masaka Municipality.

“Unless party leaders at both national and district level resolve their differences, we will continue to lose ground as party,” Mr Moses Ssekyewa, a DP member in Nyendo, a Masaka Town suburb, said
DP, the oldest political party in Uganda, is currently split with one faction led by Ms Betty Nambooze, also the party vice chairperson for Buganda region, and another led by party president Norbert Mao.

When contacted, Mr Mpuuga downplayed NRM’s win saying DP is still a dominant party in the area.
“Strictly speaking, the structure of LCs did not change. For instance, DP did not lose any LC where it had a chairperson. Instead, we made gains in some places. Check Ssaza Central, Kitabaazi, Nakaiba B, Mwalo among other villages,” he said.
Historically, Masaka District is known to be a DP’s stronghold due to the fact that one of its founders, Benedict Kiwanuka, is a son of the soil.
Masaka District NRM administrative secretary Umar Ssebulime attributed their victory to existing strong party structures.
“We have strong structures at village level unlike the Opposition which woke up a few days to the election. So, we used such structures coupled with teamwork and we trounced them in what they call their stronghold,” he said.

Mr Ssebulime said even candidates who stood as independents, are NRM- leaning who feared to stand on the party ticket.
According to Mr Mbidde, DP defeated NRM in the municipality winning 25 villages (44.6 per cent), against 18 villages (32.1per cent) won by NRM.

“Who doesn’t know that DP roars in Masaka? Despite them (NRM) retaining some villages seats, we defeated them. The kind of success we obtained was pursuant to the kind of support we gave to our ground forces. Otherwise, if we had facilitated all our candidates well and there was no intimidation orchestrated against our supporters, DP with the support it has in Masaka, it could have obtained 98 per cent (win),” he said.

Mr Anthony Luwaga, a social and political critic in Masaka, said some voters, especially in villages still believe in individual merit and didn’t vote basing on party politics.

“...Those who voted looked at individuals who will help them in their villages . A section of Ugandans are still considering individual merit. In this particular election if they had voted basing on political parties , of course DP or FDC would have won majority of the villages,” he said.

Background
Won. In the 2016 presidential election, the Opposition defeated the ruling NRM in Masaka District after FDC’s presidential candidate Kizza Besigye garnered 47,549 votes against NRM’s Museveni who got 41,988 votes.

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