Elections in Uganda

From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia

Template:Politicsboxend 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.

1 Overview
2 Latest elections (February 2006)
3 Past elections
4 See also
5 Press reports
6 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] Latest elections (February 2006)

Main article: Ugandan general election, 2006

Template:Ugandan presidential election, 2006 Template:Ugandan parliamentary election, 2006

[edit] Past elections

Template:National elections

[edit] General elections December 1980

Party	Seats
Uganda People's Congress	73
Democratic Party	52
Uganda Patriotic Movement	1
Conservative Party	0
Total seats	126

Source: Uganda 1979-85:Leadership in Transition, Jimmy K. Tindigarukayo

[edit] Presidential elections 1996

Candidate	Percentage
Yoweri Museveni	75.5%
Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere	22.3%
Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja	2.2%
Turnout	72.6%

Source: The Uganda Presidential and Parliamentary Elections 1996, James Katorobo, No. 17, Les Cahiers d'Afrique de l'est

[edit] Presidential elections 2001

Candidate	Number of votes	Percentage
Yoweri Museveni	5,123,360	69.33%
Kizza Besigye	2,055,795	27.82%
Aggrey Awori	103,915	1.41%
Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja	73,790	1.00%
Francis Bwengye	22,751	0.31%
Karuhanga Chapaa	10,080	0.14%
Turnout	7,389,691	70.3%

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."[1]

[edit] Multiparty referendum 2005

Main article: Ugandan 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?"