Progress and Challenges of Liberal Democracy in Uganda

Abstract

In 1986, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leadership took over power in Uganda and sought to entrench a no-party political system. Additionally, the NRM’s initial preferred electoral system was of individual merit and open competition through lining-up behind a chosen candidate. NRM’s stated rationale for the initiatives was to consolidate unity, peace and nationhood. This strategy was not new, but reminiscent of the one-party systems that were adopted by most postindependence African countries, including Uganda. This was tantamount to the imposition of unity through authoritarian suppression of diversity and dissent. Competitive multi-party politics; the first-past-the post and winner take-all which were the linchpins of liberal democracy were considered to have led to divergent out-comes, which were at variance with consolidating nationhood, peace and good governance. However, the political landscape in Uganda was characterized by contradictions like diversity contestations, repression, misrule, conflicts, and wars. Under competitive politics, specific contradictions included changes in the rules of the game, unlevelled ground, election rigging, and monetization. Such could be attributed to the inappro-priateness and inapplicability of the liberal model in Africa or lack of a conducive framework for its proper operation.