{UAH} Uganda elections

My fellow Ugandans I saw how the campaign and elections were conducted in our country.  It is a pity that our democracies in Uganda have gone to the dogs.  From what I saw, if you do not have money you cannot win votes.  Voters were literally bribed to give their votes to candidates.  At the few rallies which I attended in Lango I saw money being distributed.  Usually the candidate would announce the amount of money they are leaving behind to be distributed at the end of the address.  The people who had attended the rally would be asked by the agents of the candidate to line up and money is then distributed.

 

I was told that at the polling stations where votes were counted wrong results were recorded by the agents.  A friend of mine who was standing for District Council in Kole District lost because her votes were wrongly recorded though the voters had given her enough votes to win.  In Gulu the opponent of the deputy speaker Oulanya lost because after the vote count he was given the wrong results.  I am made to believe that this took place in many polling stations throughout the country.

 

It is sad that these days when one complains about the malt-practices of the elections the NRM tell you to go to courts of law and yet when they lost in 1980 they chose to run to the bush and fought the UPC government who had  won the elections.  Isn't it double standards.

 

I have observed what is going on in the minds of most Ugandans.  I can conclude that people are tired of the NRM regime.  They will tell you openly that they want a regime change but there is no way they can effect it.  As far as they are concerned elections are useless undertakings in their country.

 

I talked to a few people regarding the adventure of the UPC leadership to try and work with the NRM government.  They are totally opposed to it.   I only hope that the adventure will not make us lose more members.  I am afraid that our UPC youths might just cross over to NRM in the hope of getting financial gains.  I say this because in Uganda these days if you are not loaded forget about standing for any political position.

 

Having said that I still see hope.  True members of UPC who still believe in the ideals of UPC which was set by its founder members should never lose sight of the struggle.  Getting in bed with NRM government should never be an option.  They should continue with the struggle until NRM is dislodged from power.  It is the only way to get back political sanity in Uganda.  

 

John Ojok-Akona

UPC Member London