Don’t Expect Free and Fair Elections 2021-General Muntu

By Frank Kamuntu 

Rtd. Maj, Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu, the leader of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), an opposition political party, has assured Ugandans not to expect free and fair elections in 2021.

Gen. Muntu revealed this on Thursday, February 20, 2020, during a presser organised by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) at the Association’s headquarters in Kawempe Division.

Muntu tackled several issues concerning Uganda and also mentioned the successes his party has registered for the past 9 months of its existence. He said that “We have boosted its publicity after covering at least our first phase of creating awareness and seeking support from all regions of Uganda as a way of securing the biggest share in the 2021 General Elections.

He further informed journalists that they have already started the second phase of touring constituencies and have so far have covered Bugiri, Serere, Kamuli, Namayingo, Palisa etc, adding that their focus towards the coming elections is on establishing a grass-root presence on the ground.

However, General Muntu reminded fellow opposition party leaders that they should not expect free and fair elections in 2021 since the same has failed to happen in the past decades. But he advised that for any force to capture power there should be unity, which he called coalition, as a way of strengthening trust among them.

He urged them to form a coalition if applicable so that they can push make Museveni lose the 2021 elections.  “There is a proverb in our culture which says that if you want to walk fast, walk alone, but if you want to go far, move as a team. So, fellow opposition leaders, let’s make a coalition that will change this government since there is no hope for free and fair elections. But still, a united force can push Museveni out of office come 2021,” Gen. Muntu said. 

While commenting about yesterday’s scenario of two Red Top youth brigade members who invaded Parliament, Muntu said he is not surprised by such incidents and that government should know that people are no longer respecting its systems, since they see them as causing more problems instead of solving them.

“The public is largely impatient with the government because it has failed to address the demands of its people and the youth who committed that act should not be blamed but listened to, such that their grievances can be addressed. That is because the force that pushed them can be terrible if not treated in respect to citizens’ challenges,”  Muntu noted. 

While answering a question raised by TheSpy Uganda reporter about the Rwanda-Uganda border tension, Muntu said that  “So far I observe some progress since there has been continuous release of Rwanda nationals who were detained in Uganda. I hope  Rwanda also does the same so as to instil peace in both countries,” Muntu said. 

He added that “I think there has been progress in instituting  peace in the two countries which is good because this misunderstanding affected traders who were earning through exchange of goods via the blocked borders.”