Africa-Press – Uganda. The National Unity Platform (NUP) has petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC) over what it describes as the “illegal exclusion” of the party from discussions concerning the National Consultative Forum (NCF) and its organs.
In a letter dated September 17, 2025, addressed to EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byamukama, NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said the party had repeatedly raised concerns about being sidelined from critical engagements.
“Reference is made to ours dated September 4, 2025, addressed to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and copied to you, in which we protested against the illegal exclusion of the National Unity Platform from discussions relating to the National Consultative Forum and its constitutive organs including the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue,” the statement reads in part.
The NCF, created under the Political Parties and Organisations Act of 2005, is a platform for registered political parties to dialogue, share ideas, and build consensus on national matters.
Initially, participation in the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) was voluntary and structured as a company limited by guarantee.
However, Parliament recently amended the law to make IPOD a formal organ of the NCF—a move NUP criticizes as rushed and lacking proper consultation.
“As you know, Parliament recently amended the Political Parties and Organisations Act, 2005 to make the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue a constitutive organ of the National Consultative Forum where the National Unity Platform is an active member,” Rubongoya said.
“We protest the spirit and manner by which the amendment was passed and are challenging the same before courts of law. However, we recognize that it is the current and binding law until it is overturned legally.”
NUP also revealed that it had received no responses to earlier letters protesting its exclusion from discussions on the new law.
Matters escalated after the party learned that a summit of IPOD had been scheduled for September 18, 2025, to discuss issues arising from the amendment.
“We have now been made aware that a summit of the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue has been invited on Thursday, September 18, 2025 to, among others, discuss matters related to the amended law. Yet again, the National Unity Platform is being illegally excluded from these discussions,” Rubongoya noted.
The party argues that ongoing IPOD meetings are unlawful, since the body’s legal status changed with the amendment.
“In fact, IPOD as it existed as a company limited by guarantee before the coming into force of the new law ceased to exist and is now a statutory body. It follows therefore, that political parties with representation in Parliament must be invited, after the tabling in Parliament and publication in the Gazette of the statutory instrument, to decide whether or not to continue being part of the National Consultative Forum and its constitutive organs,” the letter reads.
Rubongoya called on the Electoral Commission to take a firm stance and ensure all discussions related to the amended law are inclusive and conducted according to the law.
“We also, once again, request the Commission to exercise its constitutional independence and not comply with any illegal directives arising out of the said illegal processes,” he added.
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