2006 Election
On November 28, 2005, Obote's widow Miria was elected party president. Miria Obote was UPC's presidential candidate in the 2006 general election.
The UPC returned to contest the election in 2006, when Museveni restored multi-party elections; however Obote died in exile a few months before. The UPC's traditional heartland in the North appeared uninterested in the UPC without Obote, but still opposed Museveni. This time they turned to Museveni's main opponent Kizza Besyigye (from the South) who led the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
The UPC had failed even to capitalise on its self created dilemma (appearing to be a Northern party) by not appointing a popular Northern politician to lead the party - instead they opted for Obote's widow (Miria), a Southerner. After the elections, the party suffered many high level defections to Museveni's ruling National Resistance Movement and to the FDC. Miria's election is a source of resentment, and many Ugandans still associate the party with the military excesses of the past. In the 23 February 2006 parliamentary election, the party won nine out of 319 seats in the National Assembly.
Read more about this topic: Uganda People's Congress
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