Elections in Uganda

The Uganda Electoral Commission (EC) provides national elections for a president and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term. The Parliament is composed of members directly elected to represent constituencies, and one woman representative for every district; as well representatives of special interest groups, including the army, youth, workers and persons with disabilities.

Overview

The first national election in Uganda was the Uganda National Assembly election of 1962. An alliance between the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) and Kabaka Yekka (KY) won the majority of parliamentary seats, and formed Uganda's first post-independence government with Obote as executive Prime Minister.

A period of dictatorship and political strife, including the tenures of Idi Amin, 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. Yoweri Museveni, one of the presidential aspirants, declared an armed rebellion, and waged a guerrilla war (the Ugandan Bush War) against the government of Obote. Museveni's National Resistance Army (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 27, 1985 military coup, making him president.

Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) created a form of "no-party democracy", banning political parties from fielding candidates directly in elections. In the "no-party" presidential election in 1996, Museveni defeated Paul Ssemogerere 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 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.

In the 2005 constitutional referendum, Ugandans voted to restore a multi-party political system, lifting the 19-year restriction on the activities of political parties. The 2006 general election was the first multiparty election in 25 years. Museveni won 59% of the presidential vote, and his party, the National Resistance Movement, won the majority of parliamentary seats. Pop star and opposition leader with Bobi Wine challenged Museveni for the presidency in the 2021 election, with Museveni winning.

Latest elections

Presidential elections

Main article: 2021 Ugandan general election

Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, chair of the Electoral Commission, declared Museveni the winner of the presidential election on 16 January, stating that he won almost 59% of the vote, with Wine taking 35%. Voter turnout was 57%. Byabakama said that it had been a peaceful election. Speaking before the results were announced, Wine told reporters that it was "the most fraudulent election in the history of Uganda" and also accused Museveni of putting him "under siege", as security forces surrounded his home. Museveni denied these claims in a televised address after being proclaimed the winner, saying that the votes had been machine-counted and that it "may turn out to be the most cheating-free election since 1962". Byabakama challenged Wine to provide evidence for his allegations of fraud.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Yoweri Museveni	National Resistance Movement	6,042,898	58.38
	Bobi Wine	National Unity Platform	3,631,437	35.08
	Patrick Amuriat	Forum for Democratic Change	337,589	3.26
	Mugisha Muntu	Alliance for National Transformation	67,574	0.65
	Norbert Mao	Democratic Party	57,682	0.56
	Henry Tumukunde	Independent	51,392	0.50
	Joseph Kabuleta	Independent	45,424	0.44
	Nancy Kalembe	Independent	38,772	0.37
	John Katumba	Independent	37,554	0.36
	Fred Mwesigye	Independent	25,483	0.25
	Willy Mayambala	Independent	15,014	0.15
Total			10,350,819	100.00
Valid votes			10,350,819	96.34
Invalid/blank votes			393,500	3.66
Total votes			10,744,319	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			18,103,603	59.35
Source: ECU

Parliamentary elections

Main article: 2021 Ugandan general election

Party		Constituency			Women			Seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Appointed	Total	+/–
	National Resistance Movement	4,158,934	41.60	218	4,532,814	44.81	101	17	336	+42
	National Unity Platform	1,347,929	13.48	43	1,607,425	15.89	14	0	57	New
	Forum for Democratic Change	729,247	7.29	24	674,154	6.66	8	0	32	–4
	Democratic Party	245,248	2.45	8	181,364	1.79	1	0	9	–6
	Uganda People's Congress	180,313	1.80	7	229,884	2.27	2	0	9	+3
	Alliance for National Transformation	72,018	0.72	0	82,318	0.81	0	0	0	New
	Justice Forum	24,843	0.25	1	22,625	0.22	0	0	1	+1
	People's Progressive Party	10,076	0.10	1				0	1	+1
	Uganda Economic Party	6,199	0.06	0				0	0	New
	Ecological Party of Uganda	4,287	0.04	0				0	0	New
	Conservative Party	1,071	0.01	0				0	0	0
	Social Democratic Party	719	0.01	0				0	0	0
	Forum for Integrity in Leadership	122	0.00	0				0	0	New
	Congress Service Volunteers Organisation	68	0.00	0				0	0	New
	Independents	3,217,480	32.18	51	2,785,676	27.54	20	3	74	+8
Uganda People's Defence Force								10	10	0
Total		9,998,554	100.00	353	10,116,260	100.00	146	30	529	+103
Source: Electoral Commission

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

External links

• Museveni's Win in the 2011 Elections: What Does it Mean For Uganda's Politics?
• Uganda Electoral Commission
• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• African Elections Database
• Voter turnout, Gender quotas, Electoral system design and Political party financing in Uganda