Kampala — AT last the NRM party primaries were peacefully concluded with few casualties - most of them political heavyweights who lost to pave way for new people to continue carrying the NRM flag. The stiff competition in the primaries was also an illustration of the power of choice and influence that is wielded by the people to choose their leaders.

Since the NRM primaries were practiced transparently, the onus is now on the rest of the parties to emulate the NRM example.

The most important and remarkable attribute of the NRM primaries is that it worked as a counter-force to the opposition, which claims that the NRM is a dictatorship. Yet on inquisitive observation you find that, contrary to what they say, it's those very parties which have exhibited the highest degree of despotism, intolerance and general dishonesty.

Parties like UPC engaged in blocking other members of the party from contesting. The lawsuits that have followed since then can work as good examples to expose the gross lack of democracy in those parties.

The simple question to those parties therefore remains: If you cannot observe intra-party democracy, how then will you respect and uphold democracy at national level?

The implication is that, given a chance, such parties will re-introduce dictatorship and totalitarian politics - something which the NRM government was trying to avoid when it employed the broad-based political system in its early years.

As a matter of fact, if anybody lost within his own party, how then can he go ahead and convince the whole electorate in the constituency to vote for him?

If the people who can be regarded as your family did not find you worth representing their interests how do you expect to go ahead to win as an independent candidate?

The only means such people (losers) hope to use is to resort to unconventional methods like vote rigging and intimidation of voters. Therefore, independents are a sign of indiscipline and political intransigence, which can only contribute to dirty politics and must be discouraged.

In the UK, when Margaret Thatcher lost popularity due to her Euro-skepticism policy and general arrogance, she resigned and chose to support john major who become prime minister in typical solidarity with her ideas.

In the US, people like Wesley Clarke and other capable personalities who were competing for the DP presidential slot but lost to John Kerry never opted for an independent run at power but instead invested their energies in supporting the ultimate winner.

All who lost should learn from such cases to continue supporting their party. I thank all those who lost and gracefully accepted defeat.

The writer is NRM parliamentary candidate for Kibale county