Elections in Uganda

Uganda provides national elections for a president and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term. The National Assembly has 292 members. 214 members are elected without party labels directly in single seat constituencies, while 78 members are elected from so-called special interest groups. These include 53 District Women Representatives (one from each district), 10 army representatives, 5 youth representatives, 5 representatives from the disabled and 5 from trade unions.

Overview

Uganda first had presidential elections in December 1980. They were, however, characterised by massive intimidation and vote rigging. Neither the majority of the population nor the few international observers that monitored the process accepted the results. Yoweri Museveni, one of the presidential aspirants, protested by waging a guerrilla war against the new government of Milton Obote. His group managed to take power in 1985, making him President.

In 1996, the first free and fair elections were held, and the incumbent Museveni emerged as winner. This made him the first democratically elected president of the Republic of Uganda.

In 2001, the incumbent Museveni triumphed after a hotly contested election beating Dr. Kizza Besigye, a former ally and his personal doctor during the 1980-85 guerrilla war. Despite a protest against the results in the high court citing massive voter intimidation and massive rigging, the outcome was accepted as the choice of the people.

In July 2005, a second referendum was held on the return to a multi-party political system ("see Uganda multiparty referendum, 2005").

The latest elections, held in 2006, were the first multiparty election in twenty years.

Latest elections (February 2006)

Past elections

General elections December 1980

On March 23 2001, Kizza Besigye challenged the election results in the Supreme Court of Uganda. Two of the five judges concluded that there were such illegalities in the elections that the results should be thrown out. The other three judges decided that the illegalities did not affect the result of the election in a substantial manner, but stated that "there was evidence that in a significant number of Polling Stations there was cheating" and that in some areas of the country, "the principle of free and fair election was compromised." [http://hrw.org/reports/2004/uganda0404/5.htm]

Multiparty referendum 2005

"Do you agree to open up the political space to allow those who wish to join different organisations/ parties to do so to compete for political power?"

Source: [http://ec.or.ug/referendum/finalresults.pdf Uganda Electoral Commission ]

Ugandan general election, 2006

ee also

* Electoral calendar
* Electoral system

Press reports

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1167005.stm Uganda election arrests] , "BBC News", 12 February 2001
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1209952.stm Uganda poll: the other contenders] , "BBC News", 8 March 2001
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1258535.stm Uganda's election challenge underway] , "BBC News", 3 April 2001

External links

* [http://www.ec.or.ug/ Uganda Electoral Commission]
* [http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/u/uganda/ Adam Carr's Election Archive]
* [http://africanelections.tripod.com/ug.html African Elections Database]
* [http://www.idea.int/countryprofile.cfm?CountryCode=UG Voter turnout, Gender quotas, Electoral system design and Political party financing in Uganda]