The Electoral Commission (EC) has officially granted the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) a certificate of registration, formally recognizing it as a political party after more than six months of deliberations.
Last month, the EC published a gazette notice announcing that the promoters of the PFF had applied for registration as a political party.
“Notice is hereby given by the Electoral Commission, in accordance with the Political Parties and Organisations Act, of an application for registration by the People’s Front for Freedom Party,” the Commission stated in the notice.
The EC further invited the public to submit any objections to the application within 14 days from the date of publication.
In August 2024, a group of former members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), led by founding FDC member Wafula Ogutu and 11 others, petitioned the EC to reserve the name, colours, symbol, and slogan for their proposed political party, which they named the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF).
According to Oduman Charles Okello, during the group’s Delegates’ Conference in September 2024, members resolved to form a new party due to internal disputes within the FDC leadership based at the Najjanankumbi headquarters.
“Our colours are red and royal blue. Our symbol will be a phone—so that everyone can say where they are. Our slogan is ‘Freedom for all and all for freedom,’ because we’ve lived under captivity for a very long time,” Okello stated. “We’ve done our part and now await the Electoral Commission to do theirs so we can begin collecting signatures for party registration. We also have a legal counsellor assisting with the application to ensure due diligence.”
Background: FDC Disputes
The internal rift within the FDC dates back to the 2021 elections, when two factions emerged—one aligned with former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye, and the other led by party president Patrick Amuriat and secretary-general Nandala Mafabi.
Besigye’s faction accused the Amuriat-led group of collaborating with President Yoweri Museveni and allegedly receiving funding from him—claims that Amuriat and his allies have repeatedly denied. Conversely, Amuriat’s camp accused Besigye’s group of failing to account for $400,000 reportedly spent during the campaign.
It is widely believed that Besigye intended to sideline Amuriat in favor of Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago ahead of the party’s presidential elections.
Although he remained an FDC member, Besigye neither endorsed nor opposed Amuriat’s 2021 presidential candidacy. In 2023, Nandala publicly questioned Besigye’s legitimacy as a founding member of the party.
“Besigye continues to destabilize the party, yet he wasn’t even a founding member. I challenge him to show us where he signed during the formation of FDC. At the time, he was in South Africa and only returned after the party had already been established,” Nandala said.
