{UAH} #UgandaDecides: Voters went to sleep in 2016, woke up in 1980! - Daniel Kalinaki
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1:41 AM |
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President Museveni is undoubtedly a popular politician. His humour and a personality that can be pleasant to the point of being charming make him very electable, as does his impressive track record.
It is a pity, therefore, that we might never really know how popular he is in a free and fair election, for all the five (and counting) organised under his watch have been anything but.
The only time Mr Museveni went into an election as a candidate (and not as an incumbent), in 1980, he failed to win his own parliamentary race.
The first is that the NRM has built its political dominance through a parasitic, rather than symbiotic, relationship with the State.
The process of separating the parasite from the host, when the NRM eventually loses the presidency, will be painful and traumatic for both party and State (and very interesting to observe).
In the short-term, failure to separate the ruling partisan political class from the State creates disincentives for political and electoral reforms, including organising credible elections.
In the long run, it leads to State capture by a narrow ruling elite, and the evolution into a police State to control the angry masses.
The most surprising thing about the recent election was not that the two leading opposition presidential candidates were in detention on Election Day and continue to be under preventive arrest at the time of writing – it is that to many Ugandans, this is not surprising at all and was, in fact, to be expected.
The more things have changed since 1980 the more they have remained the same. You need to worry when people find normalcy in the most abnormal circumstances.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/OpEdColumnists/DanielKalinaki/-UgandaDecides-Voters-sleep-woke-up-/-/878782/3091144/-/v9m7vtz/-/index.html
Sincerely,
Brian M. Kwesiga
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It is a pity, therefore, that we might never really know how popular he is in a free and fair election, for all the five (and counting) organised under his watch have been anything but.
The only time Mr Museveni went into an election as a candidate (and not as an incumbent), in 1980, he failed to win his own parliamentary race.
The first is that the NRM has built its political dominance through a parasitic, rather than symbiotic, relationship with the State.
The process of separating the parasite from the host, when the NRM eventually loses the presidency, will be painful and traumatic for both party and State (and very interesting to observe).
In the short-term, failure to separate the ruling partisan political class from the State creates disincentives for political and electoral reforms, including organising credible elections.
In the long run, it leads to State capture by a narrow ruling elite, and the evolution into a police State to control the angry masses.
The most surprising thing about the recent election was not that the two leading opposition presidential candidates were in detention on Election Day and continue to be under preventive arrest at the time of writing – it is that to many Ugandans, this is not surprising at all and was, in fact, to be expected.
The more things have changed since 1980 the more they have remained the same. You need to worry when people find normalcy in the most abnormal circumstances.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/OpEdColumnists/DanielKalinaki/-UgandaDecides-Voters-sleep-woke-up-/-/878782/3091144/-/v9m7vtz/-/index.html
Sincerely,
Brian M. Kwesiga
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
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