President Yoweri Museveni has said he will have a landslide victory in the presidential elections slated for tomorrow. “Elections are a few hours away, and you will know what the people of Uganda want,” a jovial Museveni told the over 50 local and foreign-based journalists during a press conference at State House, Entebbe yesterday. The country goes to the polls tomorrow to elect a new president and members of Parliament.
“We have been winning elections when we had wars within the country. Now the whole country is peaceful. We shall win with a big majority,” he added.
Museveni dismissed claims from the opposition political parties that the NRM was dishing out money to bribe voters. “Unless they are worried about our programmes to modernise agriculture, we have been giving revolving funds to groups. If that is what they are talking about, yes, it is called the Prosperity-for-All Programme.
“How can we bribe voters? To give money to voters is sacrilege. We don’t do that, it is actually the opposition who do that,” he said. About the trend set in the North African Arab countries like Tunisia and Egypt, where the masses deposed their governments through demonstrations, Museveni said he was not worried.
“I am the biggest enemy of dictators, so I am not worried,” the President said. Museveni noted that the Egyptian scenario would not occur in Uganda because the government here was in touch with the people, and that there were transparent democratic practices.
“There is no way you can use unconstitutional means to take over power here. We shall arrest them in the most humane way and bundle them up in prison,” he said. The President explained that in the next five years, Uganda would be transformed into a middle class economy. “By the end of the next five years, Uganda will be a middle class economy and I will not allow Besigye and his crowd to mess up that plan,” he said. Asked about the legacy he would want to leave behind, Museveni said he did not go to the bush to fight for a legacy.
Likening politics to a relay, the President said when you were expected to run for 400 meters before handing over the baton to the next runner and you only run for 300 meters, then the relay will not succeed. “The economy is now doing well why should you be so agitated with continuity. I also want to go and look after my cattle but the transition must be planned. “I like my cows slightly more than State House, I will gladly go to Rwakitura, but this State House will destabilise my cows if it is not occupied by the right people,” he stated. Museveni also said his other aspiration was the launching of the East African federation.
