The leadership of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has pledged to collaborate with the Democratic Alliance (DA) to champion electoral reforms, emphasizing that free, fair, and credible elections depend on these changes.
This commitment was announced by the PPP Chairperson during a media briefing held on Thursday, January 23, following a two-hour meeting with a delegation from the Democratic Alliance at the PPP headquarters in Ntinda.
The discussion centered on mobilizing political actors, including political parties, cultural leaders, and religious institutions, to support reforms and create a favorable environment ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Sadam Gayira, the PPP Chairperson, informed the press that the party had reviewed the Democratic Alliance’s proposals on electoral, transitional, and constitutional reforms. He noted that these align closely with the PPP’s ongoing efforts.
“We agreed with most of the proposals in their document and promised that we shall share them with our party organs and we too have ours that we shall share with the DA,so that our proposals will be included in theirs to create a unified document that reflects both parties’ priorities and a strong collective voice.”
However, the PPP cautioned that anti-dialogue political actors pose a significant threat to meaningful political change in the country and urged such individuals to reconsider their approaches.
The PPP also expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Political Parties and Organizations Act of 2005, particularly regarding the allocation of government funding to political parties with a call for the urgent need for legislative changes to ensure equitable funding for all parties registered with the Electoral Commission.
Regarding the distribution of funds under the same law, the PPP criticized the unequal allocation of resources, especially in the final year of the parliamentary term. The party called on Parliament to uphold the law and guarantee that all parties with parliamentary representation receive an equal share of the funds in the final year.
Rt. Hon. Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba, the interim leader of the Democratic Alliance, lauded the PPP’s willingness to engage and stressed the importance of expediting electoral reforms as the country approaches the 2026 elections.
“We remain committed and resilient to pursuing the objective of commonality of purpose in ensuring that this country undertakes an electoral process that is devoid of fraud,deceit and ill purpose and the only way is by erecting key pillars anchored on the law to make sure that whatever we do communicates the intentions of the polls,”he remarked.
Mpuuga also criticized politicians who oppose updates to the voters’ register while simultaneously rejecting proposed changes to electoral laws.
“You must have heard some individuals already complaining about the manner in which the update of the voters register is being done,that is a very serious reform matter and I am wondering why people who are zealous about the next election cannot see that the vote is being rigged nearly at the constituting of the voters register”, he noted.
The Democratic Alliance delegation, led by Owek. Mathias Mpuuga, included Hon. Juliet Kakande, Hon. Bwanika Abed, Mr. Lubowa, Hon. Mabikke, and other prominent figures.