Africa-Press – Uganda. Ismail Kiirya, the President of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD), has officially announced his bid for the position of Secretary General of the Democratic Party (DP) for the 2025–2030 term, pledging to return the party to its ideological roots and distinguish it from what he called the increasingly similar practices of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Running under the campaign slogan “The Future is Now,” Kiirya launched a sharp critique of the current DP leadership, accusing it of undermining internal democracy and mimicking the very structures the party has historically opposed.
“The biggest reason for coming into this race is to bring the party back to our ideology,” Kiirya said. “It’s our ideology that defines every party member, but as we talk now, we are doing things similar to the NRM.”
He cited electoral integrity as a major concern, arguing that the current DP leadership maintains control over internal elections while also contesting in them.
He compared this to President Museveni’s influence over the Electoral Commission, saying, “It’s the current leadership to determine who manages elections, they’re the ones who determine who qualifies, they are the ones who come up with guidelines, yet they are also candidates.”
Kiirya criticised the recent rise in nomination fees for senior party positions, which he said contradicts the DP’s longstanding opposition to financial barriers in politics.
He referenced the UYD’s past challenge to the government over the increase in parliamentary nomination fees, contrasting it with the party’s own internal decision to raise fees from Shs5 million to Shs10 million for the presidency, and from Shs2 million to Shs5 million for the secretary general role.
“Back in our party now, the nomination fees have been raised 100 percent on most of the positions,” he said. “This puts the party in the same position like NRM.”
On term limits, Kiirya questioned why the Democratic Party has no internal caps on leadership tenures while criticizing President Museveni for scrapping term limits in the national constitution.
“It’s like some things are ok that side and not ok this side,” he remarked.
Calling for urgent reconciliation within the DP, Kiirya described the party as fractured and deeply divided.
“We are disunited, conflicted more than any other party. So before we do that nationally, we need it internally first,” he said.
He stressed the importance of dialogue to rebuild internal cohesion and credibility.
Kiirya also pointed out the lack of a centralised membership database as a structural weakness that hampers strategic planning and accountability.
“We can’t know how many we lost, those defected etc. This makes the party operate like a disorganised entity,” he stated.
Kiirya called for a fundamental shift in direction.
“Democratic Party has to be an alternative to the people,” he said. “What we do should be totally different from what NRM is doing but at the status quo, we are like NRM.”
The Democratic Party is set to hold its internal elections on May 30, 2025, ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Other candidates in the race for Secretary General include incumbent Dr. Gerald Siranda and DP legal advisor Richard Lumu.
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