Uganda Peoples Congress
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Uganda People's Congress
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|---|---|
| Leader | Olara Otunnu |
| Founder | Milton Obote |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters | Kampala |
| Ideology |
African nationalism African socialism Obotism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National Assembly of Uganda |
10 / 375
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| Party flag | |
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The Uganda People's Congress (UPC) is a political party in Uganda.
UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner. Obote was still party leader when he died in October 2005, although he had previously announced his intention to step down.
The party won nine out of 289 elected seats in the 2006 general election. In the presidential election of the same date, UPC candidate Miria Obote won 0.8 percent of the vote.
On 14 May 2010, the party elected Olara Otunnu, a former United Nations undersecretary-general for children and armed conflict, to lead the party. He replaced Obote's widow Miria.
The UPC dominated Ugandan politics from independence until 1971, when Milton Obote was overthrown by Idi Amin. The party returned to power under Obote in 1980 until he was overthrown again in 1985 by Tito Okello. The history of the UPC is intertwined with the ethnic divide that has plagued Uganda since it was a British protectorate.
As independence approached in the 1940s-1950s, it was clear that the Baganda (the largest ethnic group) wanted extensive autonomy in Uganda, and the Buganda King's party Kabaka Yekka ("The King Only") emphasised this desire. However, this was not favoured by most Ugandans of other tribes and amongst some Buganda educated elite who formed an alternative party, the Democratic Party, to aspire for national unity. Although unpopular in Buganda, the Democratic Party had widespread support in the rest of the Bantu-speaking South.
Into this void, there emerged an alternative - the Uganda National Congress (UNC). Although led by a northerner (Milton Obote), the UNC appeared more modernist and accommodating and attracted many southerners particularly in the east. The UNC formed a number of alliances with other parties and emerged as the UPC. The three parties (Kabaka Yekka, UPC, and the Democratic Party) contested the first pre-independence election.
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