I won’t speculate on polls – Museveni

{President Museveni yesterday declined to rate his chances of securing a fifth term come February 18, 2016, even as Kenyan deputy president William Ruto joined him in Kapchorwa to bolster his campaign.}

Responding to questions asked by Daily Monitor at a press briefing in Kapchorwa about how he would assess his fortunes against his main challengers – FDC’s Kizza Besigye and the Go Forward candidate Amama Mbabazi, Mr Museveni said he was not ready to “speculate”.

The President’s exercise of caution stood in stark contrast to the outward show of confidence of senior NRM party members who have been declaring that their candidate will secure a commanding victory.

At rallies in Teso sub-region, NRM vice chairman for eastern region Mike Mukula has been assuring Mr Museveni that he will bag victory with more than 80 per cent of the vote.

Mr Ruto was soon doing what he came to do, attacking the attempt to build a coalition by Dr Besigye and Mr Mbabazi under The Democratic Alliance (TDA) with the help of leading Kenyan opposition figure, Raila Odinga. He said the two were borrowing a leaf from a loser.

Mr Odinga’s Cord coalition lost Kenya’s disputed 2013 presidential vote to the Jubilee coalition led by president Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Ruto.
Uganda’s Opposition principals met Mr Odinga in Nairobi in October, saying the meeting was to seek his help with coalition issues.

Following the meeting, Mr Ruto was quoted as saying Uganda’s Opposition chiefs had met a loser and yesterday, he again claimed they could have only picked lessons on how to lose.

“I said then that they [Uganda’s Opposition] came to meet the people who lost. I did not have a problem with them meeting. I said then they could only have learnt lessons on how to lose. That is what I said then. I have no problem with what happened and I still have no problem with any politician going to meet any other politician in Kenya,” Mr Ruto said.

Mr Ruto has been under the spotlight since he met NRM primaries’ losers and flag bearers from the Sebei sub-region at two separate meetings (one in Eldoret and in Nairobi).

The NRM continues to grapple with how to deal with its supporters who lost amid fears that they could decamp and join Mr Mbabazi.

Yesterday, Mr Museveni and his guest could not be drawn on Ruto’s involvement in affairs of the NRM. Mr Museveni responded to direct questions about this by suggesting that they were merely “some of the rumours from the media”, while Mr Ruto said his interest is in developing political parties.

“[That] my presence here may be construed that I have come to campaign for Museveni? Museveni has been campaigning in Uganda for a very long time. He has sufficient experience and knowledge, I do not think he would require the support of Kenyans to campaign for him,” Mr Ruto said.

Despite saying he was not here to campaign, the Kenyan deputy president was, however, soon in the thick of it at rallies addressed by Mr Museveni.

Mr Ruto’s meeting with Sebei’s NRM politicians was instructive since the sub-region borders Kenya. And just across, live the Kalenjin community from which he hails. The Kalenjin and Sabiny who populate Sebei are from the same ethnic group.

Mr Museveni will today take a break and head for Rwanda where a summit meeting of regional leaders on the Northern Corridor Integration projects will take place.

SOURCE:DAILY MONITOR:[I won’t speculate on polls – Museveni->http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/I-wont-speculate-on-polls–Museveni/-/688334/2990652/-/imync7/-/index.html]