UPC didn't rig 1980 elections - MP Epak
By Patrick O. Jaramogi
The Monitor  Nov 13, 2003

      BAKULI - The Uganda People's Congress didn't rig the 1980 elections, Mr Okulo Epak has said.

      "It's very unfortunate that people still believe that UPC rigged the 1980 elections. It's not true and no body has evidence to that effect¼," the Oyam South MP said.

      Okulo was yesterday presenting a paper titled "Management of Internal Democracy in a Political party" at a one-day youth leaders seminar.

      The seminar organised by Change Initiative was held at Kampala Regency Hotel in Bakuli.

      "When Museveni came to power in 1986 he put in place all sorts of commissions of inquiry but why didn't he put one for election rigging [in 1980] yet it's the reason he went to the bush," he said.

      Okulo said that the 1980 elections were simply mismanaged.

      He said there were no genuine soldiers at that time. Thugs masqueraded as soldiers, he said.
      "So it was not proper to hold elections in such an environment," he said.

      Okulo said that it was Museveni and the late Paul Mwanga who manned the elections in 1980.

      "Even Prof. George Kanyeihamba [high court judge] told me at some party that they had failed to get any evidence as regards the rigging of the 1980 elections. Even DP failed to produce the same evidence," he said.

      He said that instead of blaming former President Milton Obote for bad leadership, he should be praised because he did many good things during his time.

      "Even the so called movement cadres making noise today were shaped and groomed by the UPC structure," he said.

      He said that Museveni has no originality that's why he wants political parties to produce their Constitutions and manifestos before registering.

      "He wants us to produce our manifestos so that he can plagiarize them," he said.

      He said he will never be a minister in the movement government because it has no vision.

      "I would rather wait for 100 years till UPC comes to power then I become a minister," he said.
     


© 2003 The Monitor Publications

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~