POLITICS
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has raised alarm over the growing commercialisation of politics within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), warning that excessive campaign spending risks eroding the party’s values.
In video making rounds on social media, Tayebwa questioned why candidates were willing to spend billions of shillings to secure seats on the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), a largely voluntary organ tasked with advising the President and mobilising grassroots support.
“Why would someone spend Shs5 billion to sit in the CEC, yet the position is largely voluntary? It’s for mobilising for the party, it’s for advising the President,” he said.
He criticised the emerging practice of candidates borrowing heavily to fund campaigns, warning that politics should not be reduced to a financial contest or treated as a “matter of life and death.”
“Why should anyone issue threats? People are getting loans for these elections,” Tayebwa cautioned.
The four-day delegates’ conference, which began on 25 August and runs until 28 August, is expected to draw thousands of party members and culminate in elections for CEC positions. The body serves as the NRM’s highest decision-making organ, wielding significant influence over internal policy and political direction.
Tayebwa’s remarks come amid growing unease among party insiders about escalating campaign expenditures and the influence of money in determining political outcomes. Critics argue that such practices risk sidelining capable leaders who lack vast financial resources, undermining the party’s pledge to broaden participation.
