Elections in Uganda
Encyclopedia
Uganda provides national elections for a president
President of Uganda
-List of Presidents of Uganda:-Affiliations:-See also:*Uganda*Vice President of Uganda*Prime Minister of Uganda*Politics of Uganda*History of Uganda*Political parties of Uganda...
and a legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. The president is elected for a five year term. The National Assembly
National Assembly of Uganda
The Parliament of Uganda, comprises 215 Constituency Representatives, 79 District Woman Representatives, 10 Uganda People's Defence Forces Representatives, 5 Representatives of the Youth, 5 Representatives of Persons with Disabilities, 5 Representatives of Workers, and 13 Ex-officio Members.After...
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
Districts of Uganda
Uganda is divided into 111 districts and one city across four administrative regions. Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns....
), 10 army representatives, 5 youth representatives, 5 representatives from the disabled and 5 from trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s.
Overview
The first national election in Uganda was the Uganda National Assembly elections of 1962. An alliance between the Uganda People's CongressUganda People's Congress
The Uganda People's Congress is a political party in Uganda.Uganda People's Congress was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to Independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner...
(UPC) and Kabaka Yekka
Kabaka Yekka
Kabaka Yekka was a monarchist political party in Uganda. The party's name means 'king only' in the Ganda language language, Kabaka being the title of the King of the kingdom of Buganda....
(KY) won the majority of parliamentary seats, and formed Uganda's first post-independence government with Obote as executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
Prime Minister
A period of dictatorship and political strife, including the tenures of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
, Yusuf Lule and Godfrey Binaisa, meant no elections were held until the presidential election of December 1980. Obote was pronounced the winner amid bitter dispute and allegations of electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
. Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
, one of the presidential aspirants, declared an armed rebellion, and waged a guerrilla war (the Ugandan Bush War
Ugandan Bush War
The Ugandan Bush War refers to the guerrilla war waged between 1981 and 1986 in Uganda by the National Resistance Army against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.-Events leading to the war:Following the Uganda-Tanzania War that removed Idi Amin in 1979, a...
) against the government of Obote. Museveni's National Resistance Army
National Resistance Army
The National Resistance Army , the military wing of the National Resistance Movement , was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Luwero War or "the war in the bush", against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.NRA was supported by Muammar...
(NRA) took power in 1986 from the government of Gen. Tito Okello Lutwa who had six months earlier toppled Obote's UPC government in a July 27th 1985 bloodless military coup, making him President.
Museveni and his National Resistance Movement
National Resistance Movement
The National Resistance Movement , commonly referred to as the Movement, is a political organization in Uganda.Until a referendum in 2005, Uganda held elections on a non-party basis. The NRM dominates parliament, however, and is expected to continue to do so. The presidential elections of 12 March...
(NRM) created a form of "no-party democracy
Non-partisan democracy
Nonpartisan democracy is a system of representative government or organization such that universal and periodic elections take place without reference to political parties.-Overview:...
", banning political parties from fielding candidates directly in elections. In the "no-party" presidential election in 1996, Museveni defeated Paul Ssemogerere
Paul Ssemogerere
Paul Kawanga Ssemongere was the leader of the Democratic Party in Uganda for 25 years and one of the main players in Ugandan politics until his retirement in 2005. He is also a member of the Roman Catholic.-Early life and education:...
and Mohamed Mayanja by a landslide. Although international and domestic observers described the vote as valid, both the losing candidates rejected the results. In the following presidential election, held in 2001, Museveni won by a substantial majority, with Kizza Besigye
Kizza Besigye
Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe, commonly known as Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician and former military officer, in the in the UPDF. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change political party...
as the only real challenger. Despite a protest against the results, citing massive voter intimidation and rigging, the outcome was accepted by the Supreme Court of Uganda
Supreme Court of Uganda
The Supreme Court of Uganda is the highest judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the 1995 Constitution. It is majorly an appellate court with original jurisdiction in a few cases like Presidential election petition...
.
In the 2005 constitutional referendum
Uganda multiparty referendum, 2005
Ugandans voted to restore a multi-party political system in a constitutional referendum held on 28 July 2005. Political parties were barred from competing in elections for nearly 20 years in order to curb sectarian tensions. President Yoweri Museveni instituted the non-party "Movement" system of...
, Ugandans voted to restore a multi-party political system, lifting the 19-year restriction on the activities of political parties. The Ugandan general election of 2006
Ugandan general election, 2006
The Ugandan general election of 2006 took place on February 23, 2006. This was the first multiparty election since Yoweri Museveni, the current president, took over power in 1986. Six candidates contested for the Presidential office, and at least 33 parties were expected to enter the Parliamentary...
were the first multiparty election in 25 years. Museveni won 59% of the presidential vote, and his party, the National Resistance Movement
National Resistance Movement
The National Resistance Movement , commonly referred to as the Movement, is a political organization in Uganda.Until a referendum in 2005, Uganda held elections on a non-party basis. The NRM dominates parliament, however, and is expected to continue to do so. The presidential elections of 12 March...
, won the majority of parliamentary seats.
Latest elections (February 2006)
General elections December 1980
| Party | Seats |
| Uganda People's Congress Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress is a political party in Uganda.Uganda People's Congress was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to Independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner... |
73 |
| Democratic Party Democratic Party (Uganda) The Democratic Party is a moderate conservative political party in Uganda currently led by Norbert Mao. DP was led by Paul Ssemogerere for 25 years until his retirement in November 2005... |
52 |
| Uganda Patriotic Movement Uganda Patriotic Movement The Uganda Patriotic Movement is a defunct political party in Uganda. It was founded by Yoweri Museveni and participated in the December 1980 general elections, which were won by Milton Obote's Uganda People's Congress... |
1 |
| Conservative Party Conservative Party (Uganda) The Conservative Party is a political party in Uganda. It is led by Ken Lukyamuzi.In the general election of 23 February 2006, the party won 1 out of 289 elected seats.... |
0 |
| Total seats | 126 |
| Source: Uganda, 1979-85: Leadership in Transition (1988), Jimmy K. Tindigarukayo | |
Presidential elections 1996
| Candidate | Percentage |
| Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985... |
75.5% |
| Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere | 22.3% |
| Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja | 2.2% |
| Turnout | 72.6% |
| Source: The Electoral Commission of Uganda: Presidential Elections Results 1996 | |
Presidential elections 2001
| Candidate | Number of votes | Percentage |
| Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985... |
5,123,360 | 69.4% |
| Kizza Besigye Kizza Besigye Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe, commonly known as Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician and former military officer, in the in the UPDF. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change political party... |
2,055,795 | 27.7% |
| Aggrey Awori Aggrey Awori Aggrey Siryoyi Awori is a Ugandan politician and a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement party. He was the Minister for Information & Communications Technology in the Ugandan Cabinet, from 16 February 2009 until 27 May 2011. In the Cabinet reshuffle of 27 May 2011, he was dropped from... |
103,915 | 1.4% |
| Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja | 73,790 | 1.0% |
| Francis Bwengye | 22,751 | 0.3% |
| Karuhanga Chapaa | 10,080 | 0.1% |
| Turnout | 7,511,606 | 69.7% |
| Source: The Electoral Commission of Uganda: Uganda Presidential Elections March 2001 | ||
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?"| Option | Number of votes | Percentage |
| Yes | 3,643,223 | 92.4% |
| No | 297,865 | 7.6% |
| Turnout | 3,941,088 | 47.3% |
| Source: The Electoral Commission of Uganda | ||
Source: [ Uganda Electoral Commission ]