Africa-Press – Uganda. Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Secretary for Mobilisation, Hassan Kaps Fungaroo, has called on opposition parties to engage strategically with the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), despite concerns that the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has used the platform to dominate political discourse.
Speaking on Next Big Talk on Next Radio on Wednesday, Fungaroo said FDC’s involvement in IPOD is not a concession to NRM but a deliberate strategy to advocate for reform from within.
“Our understanding with IPOD doesn’t mean giving in or surrendering to the NRM. We have our own strategy as the FDC,” Fungaroo stated.
“We would like to assure our supporters, party members, and democratic forces in the opposition that not all is lost.”
He emphasised that political battles are sometimes best fought from inside established platforms rather than entirely from the outside.
“There is a strategy of where the fight has to start from inside. You cannot start a fight outside when it necessitates fighting from the inside,” he said.
Fungaroo criticised the NRM’s conduct within IPOD, claiming the ruling party has at times treated the organisation as an NRM-controlled institution rather than a neutral forum.
He also called for unity among opposition parties, urging them to sign the understanding with IPOD collectively to demand reforms, including free and fair elections, equal treatment of political participants, and respect for human rights.
His remarks come amid divisions among party secretary generals over whether IPOD should be formally established as a stand-alone body, with some arguing it would strengthen democracy and others seeing no need for separate legislation.
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