Uganda’s Sham Electoral Reforms

By Jill Kyatuheire, 
Advocacy Specialist, Uganda

With general elections set for early 2016, the government and ruling party have made a mockery of the reform process they initiated last year.

President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) have ruled Uganda without interruption since 1986. Although a new constitution was adopted in 1995 and political parties were legalized in 2005, elections since then have hardly been free or fair.

Opposition parties and sections of civil society repeatedly accused the ruling party of using state resources to buy votes, stuff ballots, and intimidate opposition supporters. They said that while all this happened, the Electoral Commission did nothing of consequence to stop it, indicating a clear pro-NRM bias. Indeed, whenever opposition candidates have filed suit, evidence of malpractice has been provided, damaging the ruling party’s image.

In 2014, the government raised hopes that it was ready to change this dynamic, calling on interested parties to submit proposals for a constitutional review. Many Ugandans welcomed the move as an opportunity to enact long-sought electoral reforms. The opposition and civil society groups spent months collecting views on the electoral framework. Key recommendations that emerged from the process included instituting a consultative and transparent mechanism for appointing the members and staff of the Electoral Commission. According to the proposals, commissioners would be representative of all major political groups in the country and serve a seven-year, non-renewable term.

Reducing reforms to a cruel joke

None of these ideas were enacted. The NRM, with its overwhelming majority in Parliament, balked at making changes that would result in open and truly competitive elections. No one in the government, let alone President Museveni, was willing to risk losing power after three decades. The Constitution Amendment Bill that was ultimately adopted in August 2015 did little more on electoral reform than add the word “independent” to the name of the Electoral Commission. (Other suggested changes, such as the restoration of presidential term limits, were pushed to another constitutional review to be considered in the next Parliament.)

Though highly insulting, this outcome is in keeping with the NRM’s past behavior. Over the decades, the president and ruling elite have deliberately weakened the opposition. Political party activities were banned from 1986 to 2005, and severely restricted thereafter. Even today, the Ugandan opposition is a hobbled, struggling body. Its failure to unite around a coherent platform and plan of action, largely due to bloated egos among its leadership, has not helped matters.

In addition, the ruling group has actively co-opted parts of civil society, ranging from nongovernmental organizations to religious groups and academia. There is therefore no organized front to challenge Museveni in a meaningful way when he answers calls for electoral reform with the worst kind of window dressing.

Doubling down on electoral manipulation

Even as it rebuffed attempts to improve electoral management, the ruling party was busy subdividing the country into smaller electoral and administrative units in a cynical move to expand the president’s patronage network, raising the cost of public administration. Civil society groups and the opposition had pushed for a reduction in the number of constituencies, but Parliament voted to create 43 new counties in August.

The government argued that the move would ensure effective administration and bring services closer to the people, in response to their wishes. However, the authorities have used the same tactic ahead of previous general elections, and there is simply no evidence that residents of new administrative units live better lives than before. What is true is that the newly created entities tend to vote for Museveni and his party as a sign of gratitude.

The ruling group’s machinations have led to a loss of confidence in the electoral process and increasing voter apathy. At 57 percent, the voter turnout in the 2011 elections was an all-time low. Given the dashed hopes for reform in 2015, it is entirely possible that participation will be even lower in 2016.

Photo Credit: United Nations.