A Nigerian guy I met recently asked me if Idi Amin Dada is still the president of Uganda. Now being the Christian that I am, I forgave his ignorance. Over 30 years since Amin left Uganda, some people ask if he is still president. Anyway it shows me that my country has done little to market its self abroad unlike Nigeria or Nigerians that are popular for both good and bad reasons most of which I imagine are exaggerated. But that is a topic for another day.
So with the 2011 Presidential elections fast approaching, I packed my bags and left South Africa for Uganda and this time to work as one of the UN Women international observers in the 2011 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. My brief was simple, basically to monitor instances of violence against women during this election period
.
As Gabrielle Bardall once wrote, it is a truism in the field of election law that no election runs perfectly. In every country, from the most stable democracy to the most troubled developing nation, ballot irregularities, mistakes on voter rolls, official misconduct and more can plague a vote, and cast doubt on its outcome. Most Americans think of the aftermath of the presidential election of 2000 as chaotic and uncertain, but compared to the assassinations, coups and civil wars that have resulted from disputed elections in other nations, the events in Florida a decade ago barely register. But certainly despite whatever election
On arrival in Uganda as an elections observer, I was timid because it was my first time but also elated that it is a country whose political terrain I am familiar with. I was given all the treatment that international observers deserve, albeit in my own country.
On February 18th, I visited a few polling stations in Kampala. A few polling agents asked me if a ballot paper that was marked with an X instead of the tick as they had been instructed is still a valid vote? A few women told me they didn’t vote because their names were not in the voter’s register. But as I came to discover, this was not only peculiar to the women, the men suffered the same. The Electoral Commission will hopefully explain this irregularity.
A story was told by one of the DEMGroup observers I interacted with of a woman who wanted to take her ballot papers home so her husband can vote too because he wasn’t a registered voter! Whereas the DEMGroup observer thought this was a joke, I thought more about the civic education that still needs to be done. With only 55% of the registered voters coming out to vote, we need to find out why and how we can have 100% participation from all Ugandans other factors remaining constant.
Women’s organisations need to do more civic education since women are more than half of the electorate. Organisations like Action for Development (ACFODE), Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) and Miria Matembe’s Center for Women in Governance (CEWIGO) are doing a great job but I think they need to up their game if women’s participation is going to be more significant.
Idasa is currently researching on violence against women in politics in Africa and as part of the team, we have talked to some of the people working in these organisations and generally on women, violence and election issues in Africa. I will tell you about that in my next blog and our findings from Uganda.
March 5th, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Hi Esther, thanks for the; visitor in my own home. I enjoyed reading the blog and i was not shocked by the fact that many people around the world still do not know much about what Uganda is in many aspects. Time and again, I’ve heard people saying Idi Amin, as being the president of Uganda as soon you mention to them that you are from there.
I have actually seen faces of many go dead as soon as you suggest Uganda as their holiday destination, simply because they political past of the nation still hovers in their minds. However, when you spend time explain with them and tell them what exactly Uganda is, then you see their ignorance clearly come out.
It is therefore up to us to market our great country to the rest of the world. We all know that Uganda has a great potential as far as tourism is concerned.
Thanks!
March 21st, 2011 at 7:50 am
From September 2010 until recently, I was in Arua, Uganda working with a grassroots NGO on women, youth governance, civic education, elections violence prevention and peacebuilding programs. We conducted a workshop and did several radio shows on the topic. I am working on my thesis in this area for a Master’s degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding. I was greatly disappointed in contacting the EU observers team to discuss the area, the work and my knowledge of the political climate in the area.
I was greatly disappointed in the observers response, or should I say non-response to my offer to share information with them. On polling day they were ineffective and essentially ignorant to the situations occurring on the ground. Election rolls were incorrect, voters names were missing, ballot boxes went missing (some seen as late as 10:30pm moving with people), cash being distributed at the NRM headquarters and many other irregularities. The heavy presence of military was intimidating and highly obvious to everyone. They then had the gall to report that they had “regrets” over the irregularities and military presence but felt the elections were a success.
When observers are dropped on the ground only days before election day and ensconced in deluxe hotels, the true picture does not emerge as to what is actually occurring. There are huge gaps in the observer system. Until the international community goes to ground to find out what is happening at the grassroots level and exploring the true nature of the situation, farcical, “free and fair” elections will remain the order of the day.
Civic education should most certainly be a priority but it is of no use in a militaristic “democracy.”
Thanks.