EC Orders NUP Party Off UPC’s ’Red Colour’, Bobi Wine Retaliates

  • by Rodney Mponye
  • August 4, 2020

The Electoral Commission has advised the National Unity Platform (NUP) to desist from using the red as part of their party colours.

Deputy EC spokesperson Paul Bukenya says the red colour is already registered in their system as belonging to the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC). Bukenya said they are not restricting NUP individuals on what to wear but rather cautioning the party as an entity. NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi said they are yet to receive any communication from the Electoral Commission. He said, however, their party constitution, a copy which the Electoral Commission has registered three colours – red, white and blue.

Last month, Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine surprised the nation including members of his own People Power movement when he unveiled the National Unity Platform as the political wing of the People Power.

Although Kyagulanyi initially dismissed off the relevance of political parties saying they were already too many and had for years failed to dislodge President Yoweri Museveni from power, critics and allies alike have been mulling over how the People Power leader managed to pull off such a secret political masterstroke after he secretly bought off Moses Nkonge Kibalama’s party, the National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party. Moreover, Kibalama is a known longtime state ally.

It was Kibalama’s party that whose name was transformed into NUP and Kyagulanyi elected as its leader and presidential flag bearer. Kyagulanyi would later boast that the registration of the new political was a masterstroke that surprised even the state intelligence and led to the sacking of eight senior Electoral Commission officials. Electoral Commission chairperson justice Simon Byabakama however later said the officials resigned voluntarily.

At the unveiling of NUP, Kyagulanyi said they would have loved to register People Power as a political party but the state panicked at registered it as an NGO looking after the elderly.

In retaliation, the National Unity Platform(NUP) has refused to stay off red colour as recommended by the electoral commission noting that there is no monopoly over colours.

According to the EC officials NUP applied for a change of its colours to make red the dominant one, but the request was turned down because the colour had already been taken by another party.
The deputy spokesperson, Electoral commission, Paul Buekenya said this matter of colour was addressed to the NUP as a party because it is registered  but not People Power a pressure group.
“And as a registered political party ,it is required to comply with the provisions of the political party organisation act so if there is a symbol, colour or slogan that is being used by another registered political party, then we can’t assign it to another registered political party because that would create conflicts,”said Bukenya.
He explained that their guidance was very clear and they stand by it because it is provided under political party organisation act which spell out clearly identification of colours and how to register a party among others.
“There is a political party that has already presented and identify themselves by that colour. We can’t clear another party with the same colour.It will create conflicts in the field and our guidance is based on the law,”Bukenya said.
But in response, NUP spokesperson,Joel Ssenyonyi,said there is no monopoly over colours arguing that the party has three officials colours but they chose red as its dominant colour.
“The NUP party constitution provides for three colours ,colour red,colour white and colour navy blue and that constitution is with the electrol commission,the supervisor of political parties like ours ,so the constitution is with them and it has all the three colours.They here never said no to that,”Ssenyonyi said during an interview with NBS television.

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