Chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change Kizza Besigye has called on the opposition parties in Uganda to forge an alliance to defeat the incumbent President Yoweri Museveni in the forthcoming general elections slated for Feb. 23.

Besigye was quoted by local press as saying on Thursday that there is need to for unity among the parties, saying emerging issues would be sorted out later on a common table.

"Let us not separate ourselves. Our goal is to liberate ourselves now for the peace that will enable us to listen to each other. We must first unite against a common enemy," Besigye was quoted as saying.

Besigye who is facing charges of treason, rape and terrorism is currently out on bail.

He said that since he was released on bail, he has been discussing the alliance issue with other political parties.

He said his first candidate after his release was John Ssebaana Kizito who is the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

"Ssebaana was my first guest, we tabled and talked about the issue. That discussion will continue going on and we shall see which way it goes," said Besigye.

Recent opinion polls indicate that President Museveni is in the lead with 47.1 percent followed by Besigye with 31.9 percent.

Other candidates Ssebaana Kizito, Miria Kalule of the Uganda People's Congress and independent Abed Bwanika shared the rest of the percentage.

Going by the opinion poll, President Museveni's margin would not have been enough to give him an outright win. According to the country's law, one must have a majority vote of over 50 percent in order to win the elections. President Museveni would have to go through an run-off against his lead challenger Besigye.

This explains as to why Besigye is calling for an alliance to beat President Museveni.

In 2001, Besigye came in second in presidential elections that were marred by violence and allegation of massive rigging. After the vote, Besigye was briefly detained and questioned on treason charges. He fled to the United States and later South Africa, saying his life was in danger.

He returned to Uganda on Oct. 26, 2005 from South Africa to run for president.

Source: Xinhua