Africa-Press – Uganda. According to PFF promoters, once they complete the registration process as a political party, they plan to leverage former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) structures to advance their political strategies.
The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) has launched a large-scale signature collection drive in the Kigezi sub-region, aiming to gather over 10,000 signatures from each district, far exceeding the 50 signatures required by the Electoral Commission.
The campaign began with district-level promoters gathering signatures from local supporters.
According to PFF promoters, once they complete the registration process as a political party, they plan to leverage former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) structures to advance their political strategies.
Ingrid Turinawe, addressing PFF supporters in Rukungiri, stated, “The People’s Front for Freedom is the only formation registering a political party that already has structures in place.”
Turinawe emphasized that PFF inherited the FDC’s established framework from the village level to the national delegates’ conference, which has allowed them to swiftly gather signatures.
By 10am in Rukungiri alone, they had already collected 807 signatures, with expectations of surpassing 10,000 by the end of Friday.
Though the Electoral Commission mandates 50 signatures per district, PFF promoters are determined to submit all collected signatures.
“We can’t submit only 50 signatures. No, we will submit all the signatures we collect,” said Betty Muzanira, the former Woman MP for Rukungiri District.
Turinawe also reflected on the challenges they faced in the FDC, using a metaphor: “When you lose a child, you don’t sleep on the grave. You and your partner must go back to the bedroom and produce another one.”
She alluded to internal divisions in the FDC, explaining that after uncovering deals between some party members and President Museveni, they decided to move on and regroup under the PFF banner.
“We are thankful that our people are re-energized. Please watch the space—here we come,” she said.
The PFF promoters issued a warning to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, telling them to “start packing their belongings” and prepare to leave the district.
Caleb Musimenta, the FDC Administrative Secretary for Rukungiri, acknowledged that internal divisions led to the NRM’s takeover of parts of the district in 2021 but insisted that this time, the opposition is more united.
“We did corrections, checked, and buried our flaws,” Musimenta said.
Rukungiri, the home of former FDC president Rtd. Col. Kiiza Besigye, had long been an FDC stronghold until the NRM regained influence in 2021.
Now, with the PFF’s emergence, there is renewed hope that the opposition can reclaim its lost political ground.
“Our people had scattered, some lost hope, and some threatened not to participate in any elections, but now everybody is re-energized,” Turinawe told. She added that the internal healing has made the movement “stronger than ever before.”
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