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{UAH} Uganda's 2021 digital election

Uganda's 2021 digital election
By Timothy Kalyegira

It's official: Due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country, Uganda's 2020-2021 general election campaign will now be conducted entirely via the media, both traditional and digital.

This was announced by the Electoral Commission this morning.

It could prove to be a turning point in Ugandan political history.

As I stated on Twitter yesterday, June 15:

"I wish the rising corona cases in Uganda force the 2021 election campaign to be entirely by social media, radio, TV, and newspapers.

Then we can compete on ideas rather than on who has larger and noisier crowds, or who bought more soap, booze and sugar."

Potential beneficiaries of this include:

1) The news media, like newspapers, magazines, online news sites.

2) Upcountry radio and TV stations, starved of content and weighty studio guests for years.

3) People like me who like to research and compile digital data and analyse the patterns in this data.

4) People like me who believe in high-quality photography for social media and who despise smartphone photos.

Maybe politicians will finally start contacting us to have flattering photos and videos taken of them for their social media pages.

5) The society in general. They will return to watching TV and listening to radio more keenly than they have in the last ten years. Obviously, social media use will increase as well.

6) Quieter, milder candidates like Abed Bwanika, Mugisha Muntu, Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja and the late Maj. Gen. Benon Biraro.

No longer judging candidates by the size of their crowds and, frankly, rather than require candidates with good ideas but small budgets to travel all around the country, they will be given a fairly level playing field with the major candidates like Kiiza Besigye, Yoweri Museveni and Bobi Wine.

An online-only and media-only campaign cuts out the overwhelming advantages of incumbency and monopoly of state resources (helicopters, etc.) enjoyed by President Museveni.

The new arrangement is more a relative advantage for the opposition than for the ruling NRM.

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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