Nairobi — Presidential nominations on December 15 ended with little or no surprises.

By close of the function, six people had been short-listed to battle their way to State House.

Winnie Byanyima, Dr Kizza Besigye's wife, at a political rally in Kampala. Her husband, Dr Kizza Besigye Kifefe, the remanded leader of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), has been cleared to run for the presidential elections

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the sitting president; John Ssebaana Kizito, the mayor of Kampala; Dr Kizza Besigye Kifefe, the remanded leader of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC); Ntege Nasser Ssebagala, former mayor of Kampala, Miria Kalule Obote, widow to Apollo Milton Obote, Uganda's founding President and Abed Bwanika, an independent candidate, were cleared by the electoral commission to run for the presidency.

Ssebagala and Bwanika are independent candidates Ssebagala having lost in DP nominations.

Museveni comes on National Resistance Movement (NRM), Ssebaana comes on Democratic Party (DP), Miria comes on Uganda People's Congress ticket (UPC) and Besigye comes on FDC ticket. The race is narrowing down to two candidates. After the nominations, Ssebaana, Miria, Ssebagala and Bwanika held rallies, which were poorly attended, and that was more like it.

President Museveni held a rally at Kololo that threatened to dwarf Besigye's Nakivubo rally, held the previous day, where FDC party manifesto was launched.

Anselm, Besigye's seven-year-old son moved crowds when he said his father was rotting away in Luzira because of Ugandans and that he was not about to give up until democracy dawned. In Besigye's statement, read by Winnie Byanyima, he said he was saddened that he could not meet his supporters, but was optimistic that his nomination was the beginning of a comeback.

Certainly, there is some desire in the electorate for change or new direction, which Besigye is certainly trying to exploit.

In his message, Besigye expressed hope about the approaching change.

"We are living in a country that has changed from 1986. We deserve leadership that tells the truth to Ugandans and helps the country act like a beacon to the region and beyond."

But this does not stop President Museveni from starting as an early favourite himself often boasting of having been 'tested and tried'. His popularity with peasants remains airtight although a recent survey by a government-owned newspaper put him way far behind Besigye.

Museveni also enjoys the support of businessmen who are doing well under the present leadership. Besigye on the other hand seems to be carving his turf with people in white-collar jobs.

As the other candidates retreated to their homes, Besigye and Museveni held different rallies.

Even before the Electoral Commission chief officially opened the campaigns, the two wasted no time to blast each other.

Besigye is trying to deflate Museveni's bounce, saying his regime is corrupt, wasteful and thrives on nepotism and patronage.

Museveni on the other hand is going through the time-honoured ritual of neighbourhood hopping.

He has already learnt a few words to insult, often navigating the line between naivety and pandering. For a politician of Museveni's experience, he displayed a shameful tennis match of cheap insults and classic political stumping that sought more to denigrate his opponent than address the 20-year-old insecurity in northern Uganda. He insists Besigye is a "crook".

From his list of new promises, there is an attempt to cover-up old failures. But as much as he tried to separate himself from the squandered opportunities of his administration, President Museveni's speech at the launch of his manifesto lacked freshness.

Apart from the integration of the East African Federation, which he dreams to head in 2013, all other items are recycled.

He sprinkled throughout his speech another new campaign slogan: "Turning the corner without looking back."

Museveni and Besigye are trading back and forth volleys of negative attacks on everything from failed economies to leadership styles. In their speeches, it is pinpoint their plans for the nations and differences on policy issues. What was even more upsetting was the reckless willingness with which both sides chose to abandon their parties' core values.

NRM, which is supposed to be a people's party, threatened to expel party members who had lost and had chosen to vie for parliamentary independently. FDC avoided competition by sharing out posts on ethnic grounds, breaking a cardinal rule of democracy.

As Besigye-Museveni axis raises dust, the other four candidates are cooling off, perhaps waiting for the publicly funded part of the campaign. Both sides will receive from the electoral commission about Sh1m for campaigns.