Opposition Unity Strengthened as FDC Withdraws Its Gogonyo Byelection Candidate in Favour of NUP’s Opolot

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has announced that it will support the main opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate in the Gogonyo County (in Pallisa District) parliamentary byelection. 

The Gogonyo parliamentary seat fell vacant after the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Issa Bantalib Taligola who had alleged electoral malpractice, including the claim that his rival Derrick Orone of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) had been seen in company of armed people and that he campaigned at polling stations on voting day.

It should be remembered that the 2021 parliamentary race between Taligola, an independent candidate, and Orone had been a tight one with the former garnering 6,280 votes and the latter 6,314 votes, according to results released by the country’s Electoral Commission (EC).

With voting in Gogonyo expected on August 11, nominations closed on Tuesday, August 02. Three candidates were nominated. They are Orone, Taligola and Joseph Okoboi Opolot of the NUP.

The FDC has now said that it planned to front a candidate for the byelection but decided not to so as to rally their supporters to back NUP’s Opolot.

This after the Kamwokya-based political organization supported the Najjanankumbi-based candidate Moses Attan Okia in the Soroti City East byelection which was won by NRM’s Herbert Edmund Ariko amidst widespread electoral malpractice.

“We wish to thank the NUP for the support and solidarity exhibited in the Just concluded ‘by-election’ of Soroti East, which we strongly state that we won massively!” said the FDC in a statement issued on August 03, a day after the close of nominations.

“Therefore, following the collaboration between us and NUP, we have deliberately withdrawn our candidate to offer support to Okoboi Joseph Opolot the NUP candidate in the Gogonyo county byelection in Pallisa District due to take place on 11th August 2022. Good luck!”

It should be remembered that the alleged rigging in the Soroti East byelection was such a contentious issue that government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo nearly punched Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago during a live TV show on the same. (Read Story and Watch Video Here and There).

A senior minister in Museveni’s government also seemed to suggest that the NRM stole the election after he said that FDC’s Attan had won. (Read Story Here).

Besigye: I Didn’t Sign Any Agreement With Bobi Wine; The Media Should Style Up