Owalo announces plan to launch his political party in May
By Mabonga Makhanu, May 3, 2026Former Deputy Chief of Staff Eliud Owalo has announced that he will launch his political outfit in the course of May 2026, which he will use as a vehicle for his presidential quest.
While speaking at his Gangu village in Asembo on Sunday, May 3, 2026, the presidential hopeful urged leaders whom he described as progressive to use his party ticket to contest for various seats.
He continued with his strong criticism of political party zoning, saying it undermines the 2010 Constitution. He noted that the country cannot claim to be in a multiparty environment while in some regions people are subjected to what he termed as political monopoly, where those who fail to secure party tickets are locked out of the political space.
“We cannot be in a multi-party environment as ensured in our 2010 constitution. Yet in some parts of the country, we want to subject our people to a politically monolithic one-party system, where if you don’t get the country ticket, then you fall by the wayside. So we must have a multiplicity of parties,” Owalo stated.
“That’s why this month, I’m going to launch my own party, and I want to appeal to progressive leaders to run on that party and compete with other parties, so that the people have got the opportunity to elect leaders who can facilitate real change,” he emphasised.
On his presidential bid, Owalo made it clear that he will not drop out of the race in favour of anyone else, as has been seen in the past, but will remain in the contest until polling day with his name on the ballot.
Owalo also called for an overhaul of the leadership structure, stating that if there must be change, it should begin from the highest elective seat to the bottom.
Owalo’s presidential quest
This comes days after he resigned from his role at State House and decided to throw himself into the 2027 presidential race.
During his tours across the country, he has reiterated that if elected, his leadership will focus on what he terms the third liberation, which he believes should be economic liberation.
Owalo’s manifesto
He has stated that during his tenure, he will scrap the value-added tax, which is currently at 16 per cent; the import tax; and the digital tax currently charged on creatives, in a bid to spur the economy, which he believes is lagging, with the current regime doing little to address it.