By George Bukenya
After being trounced severely in Buganda in the 2021 general elections, the Democratic Party (DP) has shifted its efforts to Isingiro and Omoro to make such areas it’s strong hold.
Buganda region specifically Masaka and Kampala used to be a strong hold for the oldest political party in Uganda but the coming of National Unity Platform (NUP) changed the allegiance of Opposition supporters.
The Democratic Party which used to garn the highest numbers of members of Parliament and local government councilors, in 2021 it did not get a single councilor in Kampala and Wakiso and other parts of central region save Kasanda where the incumbent LC V chairman is a democrat but they have a councilors in Isingiro, Karamoja and Omoro Districts respectively.
While addressing reporters in a weekly press briefing on September 2, 2025, DP president Norbert Mao said that because of the huge support his party has in Isingiro, the Party’s NEC will next week convene there and draw strategies on how they are going to compete in the coming general elections.
” We’re shifting DP strong hold to Omoro and Isingiro beacuase this is where we have the strongest branches. In fact we are struggling to mobilize candidates in Kampala where we have our headquarters than in those districts I have mentioned,” Mao said.
“We have rebel members who are holding our stamps in Kampala, greater Masaka, Wakiso and Jinja City yet they are also holding stamps for NUP.
This has prompted NEC to assume powers of the branch leadership of those areas and the decision was taken with purposes of safeguarding the party;” Mao explained.
He further said, “we want to suppress those negative forces democratically, they are not royal to the party.”
He said NEC will be overseeing the endorsement of candidates who want to carry the party flag in those areas due to the existence of the negative forces who are against the new leadership of the party.
He said the losers in the just concluded party NEC elections held in Mbarara two months ago are fighting him as a person because they still think that DP must be led by a person from Buganda.
“The Democratic Party has become a becon of hope, we are prepared to receive back our prodigal children, we’re now receiving calls from those who NUP never favored and we are keeping our door open up to the last minute receiving refugees,” Mao said.
Kennedy Mutenyo the chairman of DP’s electoral Commission said that his party has so far received 197 applications from members of Parliament aspirants of who 38% are from Buganda region, 24% Northern, 20% Eastern and 18% from Western.
Meanwhile Mao’s wife Beatrice Nambi has worn the flag to contest for the position of Kampala Lord Mayor following the withdraw of her only challenger John Bosco Kamoga.