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2021 Ugandan general election

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General elections were held in Uganda on 14 January 2021 to elect the President and the Parliament.[1][2] The Electoral Commission announced Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, the incumbent ruling since 1986, as the winner with 58.64% of the votes although the U.S. State Department qualified the electoral process as "fundamentally flawed"[3] and Africa Elections Watch said they observed irregularities. The official voter turnout was 57%[4] but is questioned since 409 polling stations have been announced to have 100% voter turnout.[5][6]

2021 Ugandan general election
← 2016 14 January 2021 (2021-01-14) 2026 →
Presidential election
Turnout59.35% (Decrease 8.26pp)
 
Nominee Yoweri Museveni Bobi Wine
Party NRM NUP
Popular vote 6,042,898 3,631,437
Percentage 58.38% 35.08%
Results by district:
Yoweri Museveni:      45–50%      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%      65–70%      70–75%      75–80%      80–85%      85–90%      90–95%      >95%
Bobi Wine:      45–50%      50–55%      55–60%      60–65%      65–70%      70–75%      75–80%
President before election

Yoweri Museveni
NRM

Elected President

Yoweri Museveni
NRM

Parliamentary election
All 529 seats in Parliament
265 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
NRM Yoweri Museveni 41.60 336 +43
NUP Bobi Wine 13.48 57 New
FDC Patrick Oboi Amuriat 7.29 32 −4
DP Norbert Mao 2.45 9 −6
UPC Jimmy Micheal Akena 1.80 9 +3
JEEMA Asuman Basalirwa 0.25 1 +1
PPP Jaberi Bidandi Ssali 0.10 1 +1
Independents – 32.18 74 +8
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Speaker of Parliament before Speaker of Parliament after
Rebecca Kadaga
NRM		 Jacob Oulanyah
NRM

Electoral system

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The President of Uganda is elected using the two-round system, with candidates needing to receive at least 50% of the vote to be elected in the first round. Chapter 142 of the Presidential Elections Act of 2000 stipulates that presidential candidates must be a citizen of Uganda by birth and be qualified to be an MP.[7] Candidates are also required to be of sound mind and have no formal connection with the Electoral Commission of Uganda. Term limits were abolished in 2005.[8] The elections are supervised by the Electoral Commission of Uganda.[9]

The Parliament of Uganda has a total of 529 seats, including 353 representatives elected using first-past-the-post voting in single winner constituencies. Using the same method, 146 seats reserved for women are filled, with one seat per district. Finally, 30 seats are indirectly filled via special electoral colleges: 10 by the army, 5 by youths, 5 by elders, 5 by unions, and 5 by people with disabilities. In each of these groups, at least one woman must be elected (at least two for the army group).[10][11][12]

Presidential candidates

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Eleven candidates were registered to contest in the election.[13]

  1. Yoweri Museveni, National Resistance Movement
  2. Bobi Wine, National Unity Platform
  3. John Katumba, Independent
  4. Willy Mayambala, Independent
  5. Fred Mwesigye, Independent
  6. Henry Tumukunde, Independent
  7. Joseph Kabuleta, Independent
  8. Nancy Kalembe, Independent
  9. Patrick Oboi Amuriat, Forum for Democratic Change
  10. Mugisha Muntu, Alliance for National Transformation
  11. Norbert Mao, Democratic Party

Campaign

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Campaigning was stopped in Mbarara, Kabarole, Luweero, Kasese, Masaka, Wakiso, Jinja, Kalungu, Kazo, Kampala City and Tororo on 26 December 2020. The government said it was to prevent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, but critics said it was because of the popularity of the opposition in those areas. Crowds had previously been limited to 200 people.[14]

When asked what he wanted to accomplish that he hadn't already done after 35 years in power, Museveni said he wanted to work for the economic integration in Africa, and to change the Ugandan culture of not working hard. He said in other countries, a harsh environment of competition pushed people to work, "but here, fools can survive".[15]

Conduct

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International observers

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The European Union did not deploy observers (EOM—election observer mission) because previous recommendations from their 2016 mission had been ignored.[16] On 13 January 2021, the United States cancelled its observation of Uganda's presidential election, saying the voting will lack transparency and accountability.[17]

Arrests of Bobi Wine

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On 18 November 2020, opposition candidate Bobi Wine was arrested for allegedly violating COVID-19 protocols during his presidential campaign in Uganda. The National Unity Platform claimed that the continued arrests of its members were intended to stifle their ability to campaign rather than to follow COVID protocols. Supporters of Wine took to the streets of Kampala, clashing with security forces. This led to violent protests in which 100 people died and more than 500 were injured.[18][19]

Wine was arrested again on 30 December on Kalangala Island, where a rally he was holding was cut short by police. Police broke up the rally using tear gas and Wine was put under house arrest at his home in Kampala.[20][21] During his campaign, several aides, bodyguards and members of his entourage have been arrested, jailed and killed.[22]

Social media and internet block

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On 13 January 2021, a day before the elections and a day after Facebook closed "fake" accounts it said were linked to the government, the communications regulator in Uganda ordered all telecoms firms to block access to social media and messaging apps in retaliation.[23] The Ugandan government denied the charges and accused Facebook of meddling in the election saying "I think they are playing the usual games, we know that they have a side in this election perhaps."[24]

At 5 pm on 13 January, the government ordered a complete internet shut-down, which came into effect at 7 pm. Amnesty International's deputy regional director condemned the move, saying that it was "clearly intended to silence the few accredited election observers, opposition politicians, human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and bloggers who are monitoring the elections".[25]

Allegations of fraud

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On 15 January (the day after the election), Bobi Wine announced that Ugandan security forces had surrounded and breached his compound after he had alleged that the elections had been "marred by fraud and violence".[26][27] Wine said he had video proof of voting fraud and would share the videos as soon as internet connections were restored. He accused Museveni of fabricating the results and called the poll "the most fraudulent election in the history of Uganda... The entire process has been conducted in [the] dark and it lacks transparency," Katana, head agent of Bobi Wine's National Unity Platform, said "From the beginning, we were assured by the electoral commission that each candidate or their agents will receive copies of the results from the districts before they are transmitted to the national tally centre, so we are able to verify when they are reading here – and that was not done."[28] On February 1, the legal team for opposition leader Bobi Wine filed a Supreme Court lawsuit, asking it to declare President Yoweri Museveni's re-election rigged. George Musisi, a member of Wine's legal team, said that the National United Platform (NUP) had amassed "glaring evidence" proving that the election result was invalid. "There was outright ballot-stuffing, there was intimidation of NUP agents and supporters, some were arrested on the eve of [last month's] election, there was pre-ticking of ballots," said Musisi.[29][30]

Results

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President

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Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, chair of the Electoral Commission, declared Museveni the winner of the presidential election on 16 January, stating that he won almost 59% of the vote, with Wine taking 35%. Voter turnout was 57%. Byabakama said that it had been a peaceful election.[31] Speaking before the results were announced, Wine told reporters that it was "the most fraudulent election in the history of Uganda" and also accused Museveni of putting him "under siege", as security forces surrounded his home.[32] Museveni denied these claims in a televised address after being proclaimed the winner, saying that the votes had been machine-counted and that it "may turn out to be the most cheating-free election since 1962".[32][31] Byabakama challenged Wine to provide evidence for his allegations of fraud.[31]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Yoweri MuseveniNational Resistance Movement6,042,89858.38
Bobi WineNational Unity Platform3,631,43735.08
Patrick AmuriatForum for Democratic Change337,5893.26
Mugisha MuntuAlliance for National Transformation67,5740.65
Norbert MaoDemocratic Party57,6820.56
Henry TumukundeIndependent51,3920.50
Joseph KabuletaIndependent45,4240.44
Nancy KalembeIndependent38,7720.37
John KatumbaIndependent37,5540.36
Fred MwesigyeIndependent25,4830.25
Willy MayambalaIndependent15,0140.15
Total10,350,819100.00
Valid votes10,350,81996.34
Invalid/blank votes393,5003.66
Total votes10,744,319100.00
Registered voters/turnout18,103,60359.35
Source: ECU

Parliament

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PartyConstituencyWomenSeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsAppointedTotal+/–
National Resistance Movement4,158,93441.602184,532,81444.8110117336+42
National Unity Platform1,347,92913.48431,607,42515.8914057New
Forum for Democratic Change729,2477.2924674,1546.668032–4
Democratic Party245,2482.458181,3641.79109–6
Uganda People's Congress180,3131.807229,8842.27209+3
Alliance for National Transformation72,0180.72082,3180.81000New
Justice Forum24,8430.25122,6250.22001+1
People's Progressive Party10,0760.10101+1
Uganda Economic Party6,1990.06000New
Ecological Party of Uganda4,2870.04000New
Conservative Party1,0710.010000
Social Democratic Party7190.010000
Forum for Integrity in Leadership1220.00000New
Congress Service Volunteers Organisation680.00000New
Independents3,217,48032.18512,785,67627.5420374+8
Uganda People's Defence Force10100
Total9,998,554100.0035310,116,260100.0014630529+103
Source: Electoral Commission

International reactions

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Tanzania's president John Magufuli congratulated Museveni on his reelection victory.[33] Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated Museveni, and in a statement published as a Facebook post, termed President Yoweri Museveni's re-election as a testimony of the confidence the people of Uganda have in his leadership. The post (specifically the part that mentioned Museveni having announced a cabinet shuffle) was flagged by Facebook and termed as "false information" and was subsequently deleted by the page administrators.[34][35] The same congratulatory message was published on State House Kenya's Twitter handle and subsequently deleted.[33] Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's Sovereignty Council and the nation's transitional head of state, also congratulated Museveni.[36]

The United States and European Union called for an investigation into abuses of power by the government and violence during the election. The United States Department of State also called on Ugandan authorities to investigate election "irregularities," while the EU Council of Ministers stated that "opposition candidates were harassed by security forces, the media was suppressed by the government, and observers' offices were raided."[37] The European Parliament passed a resolution on February 11, 2021 indicating that the election was not democratic and the security forces used excessive force.[38] The resolution stated that it "expects all election challenges and complaints to be addressed in an independent and transparent manner". It also stated that hundreds of NUP supporters had been abducted by security forces operatives and an unclear number of them were "still being forcibly detained or are missing".[39] It was later confirmed that many NUP members disappeared or were detained.[40]

References

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  1. ^ "Uganda to hold elections in early 2021, campaign rallies banned". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2020-11-15. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  2. ^ Biryabarema, Elias (2020-07-21). "Uganda's Museveni seeks re-election to extend rule to four decades". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  3. ^ Milliken, David (17 January 2021). "Uganda's Museveni wins sixth term, rival alleges fraud". Reuters.
  4. ^ "Museveni declared winner of disputed Uganda presidential election". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. January 16, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "409 Polling Stations had 100% Voter Turnout, Giving Museveni 95.8%". URN.
  6. ^ "Election observers baffled by 100% voter turnout". Observer.
  7. ^ "Presidential Electons [sic] Act 2000 | Uganda Legal Information Institute". ulii.org. Archived from the original on 2020-11-15. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  8. ^ Goitom, Hanibal (2012-04-25). "Uganda: Proposal to Re-Introduce Presidential Term Limits | Global Legal Monitor". www.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-09-07. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  9. ^ "IFES Election Guide | Elections: Uganda President 2016". www.electionguide.org. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  10. ^ "Constitution" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  11. ^ "Electoral handbook" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  12. ^ "IFES Election Guide | Elections: Uganda National Assembly 2021". www.electionguide.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  13. ^ Presidential elections 2020/2021[permanent dead link] Electoral Commission
  14. ^ "Uganda halts campaigning for January 14 vote in several districts". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Eyder Peralta (12 Jan 2021). "Uganda's Museveni Faces Tough Challenge In Presidential Election". Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  16. ^ Biryabarema, Elias (November 16, 2020). "EU says won't monitor Uganda election, limiting poll's international scrutiny". Yahoo! News. Reuters. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "U.S. cancels its observation of Uganda's presidential election". msn.com. Reuters. January 13, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  18. ^ Athumani, Halima; Wroughton, Lesley. "37 dead in Uganda protests after arrest of presidential candidate Bobi Wine". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  19. ^ Ntale, Samson. "Protests after the arrest of Bobi Wine, Ugandan presidential candidate". CNN. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  20. ^ "Uganda police arrest Bobi Wine, tear gas supporters". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  21. ^ Akinwotu, Emmanuel (2021-01-07). "Bobi Wine confronted by Ugandan police during appeal for ICC inquiry". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  22. ^ "Uganda's Bobi Wine says his bodyguard was 'deliberately' run over and killed". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  23. ^ "Uganda elections 2021: Social media blocked ahead of poll". BBC News. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  24. ^ "Uganda elections 2021: Facebook shuts government-linked accounts". BBC News. January 11, 2021. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  25. ^ Kafeero, Stephen (14 January 2021). "Uganda has cut off its entire internet hours to its election polls opening". Quartz Africa. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  26. ^ Dahir, Abdi Latif (2021-01-15). "Ugandan Forces Surround Home of Leading Opposition Figure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  27. ^ Athumani, Halima (15 January 2021). "Uganda Soldiers Enter Home of Opposition Leader After He Alleges Election Fraud | Voice of America – English". Voice of America. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  28. ^ "Museveni declared winner of disputed Uganda presidential election".
  29. ^ "Uganda election: Bobi Wine challenges result in court | DW | 01.02.2021".
  30. ^ "Uganda's opposition leader Bobi Wine files election challenge in court". February 2021.
  31. ^ a b c "Uganda: Veteran leader Yoweri Museveni declared election winner". BBC News. 16 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  32. ^ a b Akinwotu, Emmanuel; Okiror, Samuel (16 January 2021). "Museveni declared election winner in Uganda as rival Bobi Wine alleges fraud". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  33. ^ a b "President Magufuli congratulates Museveni, Kenya's state house deletes message". The Citizen. 17 January 2021. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  34. ^ Macharia, Hunja (17 January 2021). "President Uhuru congratulates President Museveni on his re-election". Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  35. ^ Ben-Hur, Judah. "Facebook flags Yoweri Museveni's congratulatory message from Uhuru Kenyatta". The Standard. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  36. ^ "Al-Burhan Congratulates Museveni". Sudan News Agency. 17 January 2021. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  37. ^ McSweeney, Eoin; Busari, Stephanie (21 January 2021). "EU and US call for probe into Uganda election violence as Bobi Wine remains under house arrest". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  38. ^ ELIAS BIRYABAREMA, ELIAS (13 FEBRUARY 2021) Uganda chafes at EU criticism over Museveni re-election Times Live https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2021-02-13-uganda-chafes-at-eu-criticism-over-museveni-re-election/ Accessed 13 February 2021
  39. ^ European Parliament (11 February 2021) Political Situation in Uganda. P9_TA-PROV(2021)0057. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0057_EN.html. Accessed 13 February 2021
  40. ^ "They came in plain clothes with guns, abducted by Uganda's army". Al Jazeera.
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