#UgandaDecides: Our vote is for Robert Kyagulanyi

As the people of Uganda head to the polls next Thursday, January 14, 2021, it is the considered view of the Board of Editors of The Difference Newspaper that Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, candidate of the National Unity Platform party is in the best position to lead a government that will offer the East African nation, the much needed lease of life that it deserves and should have now.

This decision has been reached after a careful consideration of the issues at stake as the nation heads to the polls the plethora of candidates that have presented themselves to run in the elections and the broader challenges that the entire African continent is faced with.

In our view, liberty and the entrenchment of a rights-based democracy is the first factor of choice that is at stake in the polls. To achieve this going forward in our view, three things are needed. One, the incumbent President, Yoweri Museveni, who has demonstrated a strong penchant for continually hounding the opposition and all critics of his administration has to be voted out of office. Second, a new government built around one of the more credible and determined voices within the opposition should be set up. And three, that government should commit to a policy of national renewal and national reconciliation immediately after coming into power. On two of the three counts at the moment, we find the candidature of Mr. Kyagulanyi to be basically appealing.

We also think that the forthcoming election contains within itself the promise of democratic renewal which has been largely denied the good people of Uganda, and indeed a lot of the people of Africa over the years. For Africa to address a lot of its daunting challenges, it has to get it right at the leadership selection and governance systems level. The continent needs to demonstrate greater efficiency, order and rules-based conduct at the critical political level which would in turn percolate to other segments of life on the continent. In our considered opinion, Mr. Museveni has very little to offer today in this regard. Indeed, he may have presently come to symbolise, and very sadly too, the exact antithesis of this much needed traction. This in our view is one more reason why Uganda needs to vote for a fresh vision of life.

We urge the good people of Uganda to be peaceful and civic as they vote. We urge the incumbent administration to be measured and mature. We urge the electoral commission and the security services to be professional and honest. Wre also urge observers and the polls monitors from within and outside the continent to be guided by best practices and an overriding determination to ensure fair and accurate reporting. May Uganda and Africa win.

Mr. Robert Kyagulanyi, NUP candidate