{"id":9526,"date":"2025-05-27T09:22:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T09:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/?p=9526"},"modified":"2025-05-27T14:24:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T14:24:00","slug":"fdc-members-call-for-single-presidential-candidate-in-2026-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/2025\/05\/27\/fdc-members-call-for-single-presidential-candidate-in-2026-race\/","title":{"rendered":"FDC Members Call for Single Presidential Candidate in 2026 Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

By URN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)\u00a0members from Pader and Agago districts have called on the party\u2019s aspiring presidential candidates to reach a consensus and front a single flag bearer for the 2026 general elections.\u00a0The appeal was made during a delegates\u2019 conference held in Lokole Town Council, Agago District, on Monday, May 26, 2025.<\/p>\n

Supporters and local leaders voiced concern that internal competition between former party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat and current Secretary General Nandala Mafabi could divide the party and deplete its limited resources.<\/p>\n

Florence Ayoo, Chairperson of the FDC Women\u2019s League in Agago, emphasized the need to prioritize party unity and grassroots resource mobilization over leadership contests. She noted that many FDC supporters were defecting to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) due to inadequate support from the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to channel our energy into strengthening the party and mobilizing resources\u2014not fighting each other for leadership,\u201d Ayoo said. \u201cOur people are defecting to other parties not because they want to, but because they lack support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ayoo also criticized the NRM government, saying communities in Agago continue to suffer under its leadership, particularly due to insecurity caused by Karimojong cattle raids. She urged party members to overcome fear and reclaim their political space.<\/p>\n

Deacon Olweny Okello, a party delegate from Ajan Sub-county in Pader District, echoed the call for a unified front. He questioned whether FDC would hold primaries and when they would take place. Okello proposed that the two presidential aspirants negotiate to allow one candidate to run unopposed, avoiding a costly and divisive campaign.<\/p>\n

Hon. Jonathan Ebwalu, the Soroti West Member of Parliament, assured members that the party leadership had committed to funding internal elections, from presidential candidates down to village-level structures. He pledged that FDC would present strong challenges to the NRM, particularly through youth mobilization, and revealed that intensive efforts would begin in the northern region, starting with Agago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have two presidential aspirants, and the party will support the process of choosing the flag bearer,\u201d Ebwalu said. \u201cBut our greater focus is to ensure FDC has candidates at every level. We\u2019ve already filled all positions in West Nile.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also condemned alleged state interference in party activities, citing a recent incident in Kitgum District where police reportedly attempted to block a delegates\u2019 meeting. Despite that, he said, the party pushed forward.\u00a0Hassan Kaps Fungaroo, acting FDC party president and deputy president for Northern Uganda, also addressed the gathering, reaffirming the party\u2019s commitment to grassroots democracy.<\/p>\n

He disclosed that some members attempting to obtain party flags directly from the secretariat were advised to seek endorsement from their constituencies instead.\u00a0Regarding the proposal for a single presidential candidate, Fungaroo said the matter would be forwarded to the party\u2019s top leadership at Najjanankumbi for formal consideration. \u201cOur strength is at the grassroots. Any decision about our leadership must reflect the will of the people,\u201d Fungaroo said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By URN The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)\u00a0members from Pader and Agago districts have called on the party\u2019s aspiring presidential candidates to reach a consensus and front a single flag bearer for the 2026 general elections.\u00a0The appeal was made during a delegates\u2019 conference held in Lokole Town Council, Agago District, on Monday, May 26, 2025. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9528,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9526\/revisions\/9528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spicemedia.ug\/spicefm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}