Dr Kizza Besigye and his political rival, President Yoweri museveni have finally agreed to have talks about their different political approaches in Uganda.
The two most influential politicians in Uganda will, according to Daily Monitor hold talks for a period of six months following an agreement on a neutral and foreign mediator.
Both Dr Besigye and Mr Museveni have reportedly agreed on the agenda for the dialogue, a neutral venue and a foreign mediator.
The two have also agreed on a legal framework and both individuals attending in person plus full participation.
President Museveni has for long invited his political competitors for talks since the election in 2006, however Dr Besigye has never honored the president’s invite insisting on clearly structured terms.
For instance last month, Dr Besigye said at a press conference that “There must be properly structured process and that is why we have been talking about agreeing on a mutual facilitator that starts the process,” Dr Besigye said.
President Museveni on the other hand, although he has always said he is open to talks, he has always rejected the pre-conditions set by his four-time presidential challenger and the founding president of the Forum for democratic Change (FDC), the largest opposition political party by membership.
This seems to have been achieved and the two bush war comrades are set to dialogue.
According to the story in the Daily Monitor, the two leaders will meet in the presence of selected members of civil society and religious leaders.
According to the story in the Daily Monitor, both Dr Besigye and President Museveni have been holding “behind the scene discussions” on how to hold the talks and Liberian politician Ms Yvette Chesson Wureh is said to have brought the dialogue process this far.
During the press conference last month, Dr Besigye listed his conditions for the dialogue as;
- Respected facilitator agreeable to all parties
- A formal and properly structured process
- Clear agenda for the talks
- Mechanism to guarantee implementation of outcomes
- Equality of parties to the dialogue