Democratic Party (DP) President General Nobert Mao has said he will stand for president in 2021 if the opposition in Uganda fails to come up with a joint candidate by December this year.
Mao made the pronouncement during a party weekly briefing on Tuesday at DP Headquarters in Kampala.
He said failure by the opposition to come up with a joint candidate will push him to contest and realize his vision of freeing Ugandans from political captivity.
“I will run for president in case the opposition doesn’t unite by December 2019” Mao said.
Mao also gave the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and People Power movement led by Robert Kyagulanyi a period of two weeks to clarify their position on the issue of a joint candidate otherwise he will step up and prepare to stand as a presidential candidate.
According to the DP Secretary General Gerald Siranda, a party president is the party’s flag-bearer until the National Delegates’ Conference convenes to elect a presidential candidate; therefore Mao’s declaration is within the law. He however noted that DP is set to hold a delegates’ conference on 15th February 2020.
Nobert Mao becomes the second opposition leader to declare intentions to contest in the 2021 general elections against the incumbent Yoweri Museveni, after the Kyadondo East MP Hon. Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi made the same declaration early this year.
A lawyer by profession, Nobert Mao ran for president of Uganda in the 2011 general elections alongside other six opposition candidates and collected 1.86% of the total vote. The election was won by NRM’s Yoweri Museveni who is expected to be in the contest for the same position in 2021.