Is Uganda ready to vote?

Unfortunately these elections have become a formality rather than a true expression of the majority of the citizenry on the country's leadership. As is evident with Mubarak of Egypt who sailed to the presidency with 88% of the popular vote. At some point, Museveni and those around him started to believe that they are more important than the institution of the presidency and has used fear and Uganda's messy history to retain power.
Alas, the world, even in Africa, is changing at an alarming rate and natural selection is a matter of time. I hope the people of Uganda will vote ina peaceful manner.

To me Uganda is not ready for elections. However elections could only be organised at district levels and lower levels. Election of counsellors and district chairpersons will be very successful. However Uganda is not prepared for change of presidnecy. First, the army belongs to Museveni. No other Ugandan can come to power unless Museveni leaves or dies. No convicing preparions are in site for independece of the army to show defend and respect public opinion.

Uganda's problem is lack of accountability from starting with the head. We are wasting money with elections yet the hospitals have no drugs for the sick!!

am right here in kampala, and the way i see the situation i think this time around we shall have a peaceful free and fair election. throughout the campaigns we have not seen any serious alarming incidents. people are very peacefull and this is likely to be the case even during the polls.
Bbosa Toony (Pan African)
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We should stop obsessing about these so-called "elections" in Africa and focus, instead, on who the candidates are, to begin with, and more importantly, on what they do or intend to do in office. I'm aware that the latter seems impossible to ascertain before they actually assume power, but this can't be the case with the eternal candidates, surely. We have had over two decades to assess the record of Museveni, for example, or at least a decade to evaluate the ruling PDP party in Nigeria. Indeed, the fact that "elections" in Africa are dominated by these eternal candidates (or their cronies) makes this task that much easier. It should by now be clear that we have no future with these same scoundrels in positions of power - surely.

Most Ugandans have given up on the possibility of peaceful and orderly transition under M7.the problem is that this crop of "leaders" have undemocratic backgrounds. well we now look to providence to do the "needful"

free and fair elections in Uganda?????? lol that a joke, my prediction is the election will be rigged by Museveni, people will demonstrate on the streets of kampala, many will be shot dead and after a few days it will be business as usual. Uganda doesn't matter a lot like Egypt does to the west, international community will not be bothered to intervene when people die on the street of kampala........

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The usual advantages of incumbency aside, preparations for this election have been different. In 2006 the opposition leader was jailed at crucial stages of the campaign period. Today Kiiza Besigye is a free man. The general mood in 2006 could have benefitted from the Tunisia/Egypt effect. Not today! Where the whip ruled, we have brown cash envelopes today! The President may not be liked in many quarters, but he is not hated enough to galvanise protests on the scale of Tunisia or Egypt. Make no mistake this is a crucial election. The President may hang on-to power, but he must see the reading on the wall - democratic and accountable gov't or regime death!

Definitely! Definitely! Definitely! Uganda's Feb. 18th elections will be free and fair! All that has been happening around the continent of Africa like in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Egypt cannot happen in Uganda! Everything has been peaceful right from the start of campaigns to date and so it will be during voting and after! I predict a big victory for the incumbent Y.K. Museveni!

MU-seveni is like MU-barak..... is like MU-gabe...is like MU-ammar Gaddafi...fill in the blanks!

The SELECTIONS in Uganda could go either way. Unfortunately, Museveni has been portrayed as favorite to win (that in itself is full of irony) but!!! no sooner had the voices up North started claiming their place....even the AU was not that important. This speaks volumes about what is happening in Africa...its meaning and its impact in Uganda. This means there is no room for electoral theft/malpractices...the norm rather than the exception in many an African state!

I truly hope Ugandans are READY TO VOTE with their conscience and not STOMACHS....What this means is that the rest of Africa gearing up for elections will learn from this script. Its the Mexican wave that started in South Sudan...passed on to Tunis, passed on to Egypt and finally in Uganda...

As of now Museveni is favored to win. Museveni has been a steady hand after two failed presidency's. I feel sad that Dr Besigye, Olara Otunnu, and Norbert Mao are not united as a coalition in this election. Uganda needs an all inclusive national policy not a Luganda policy that Museveni stands for. The future will change for Uganda, with and EAC monetary union, oil revenues, free Southern Sudan, increased remittances, rising global coffee prices the future is bullish.

Unfortunately the upcoming Presidential race is not a race at all. Those pretending to think the election won't be rigged must be living under a rock. Effectively the race has already been rigged as the President tours the country handing out "brown envelopes." The electoral commission is already a biased entity. In most free societies these would be considred serious violations but not to the NRM Government it is business as usual. While Uganda is somewhat of a "Democracy" because people vote it is not a free society. Democracy is only one of the many ingredients required in a free society. It gives people the right vote however it does not guarantee freedom. Freedom can only be guaranteed through an independent legal system that is not so readily influenced by periodic voting. Furthermore democracy and voting can only be an agent of freedom if they give people meaningful voting choices, and if it ensures that the people have unbiased and undistorted information necessary to make an informed choice that is in their best interest. We have to remember that it is not the voting that counts but the counting of the votes that really matters. I doubt very much the upcoming elctions will reflect the will of the people.

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To be honest some of the comments made by fellow Ugandans about Museveni show our true nature of being ( africans un-appreciative by making comparison with Mubarak ) without critically looking at our history. I must confessed.I do support him ( not from my tribe) but he have made some mistakes...about not sacking those ministers who have looted and continue to loot the tax payer money..Uganda is not perfect but we have one of the free press freedom..Election just round the corner the prophet of doom have now predicted war.....but that will not happen

At this moment its not easy to justify the impact of the upcoming elections on the future of Uganda. However, what ever impact they'll have on the economy and the people maybe good or bad. Good in a way that which ever presidential candidate wins, change will be inevitable. President Museveni like Dr. Besigye maybe or may not be the best there can be for Uganda but most important to the economy and the people is if economic growth can be promoted as well as peace and Unity given the fact that soon Uganda will begin producing Oil.
I am anticipating for the first of its kind free and fair elections in Uganda but whats worrying is that the state has continued to engage its self in heavy deployment of the army, the police and the Military police in various areas of the nation, a move which many civilians are not liking. Soldiers are everywhere like never before and people now think that war is looming over anytime.
The Egyptian Question may not necessarily find an answer in Uganda's Political environment since Ugandans are determined to get a leader by the cast of a vote. However, the future remains Untold and indescribable not Until when we get there.
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I think Uganda,has been ready for the coming elections for along time!On the onset,there are changes expected at almost all levels.Whereas the voters deeply know that they might not have their way in navigating total change of personnel,there is the excitement,that comes with moaning for the loosers and kissing the victorious. Are we ready? Yes we are,and enthusiatically looking forward!

Uganda is NOT ready to vote under prevailing circumstances i.e. violence and lack of transparency especially from government, the media, police, and the army. This election has already been won. Election date set on the 18th February 2011 is just a ploy in an attempt for Museveni to claim legitimacy from the western world.

Iam JB Ssembatya, a Seminarian in Uganda, I have a fear that the electoral commission and other stake holders may say we are ready to vote, and even the elections may take place, but the recent events in other like Tunisia, Ivory Coast and Egypt may have an unimaginable impact on not only the outcome of the elections but our future as well. I therefore request the international Community and the UN observers to be extra vigilant and take the necessary steps to ensure a free and fare election, to avaoid chaos and bloodshed. We need peace in our country. Long Live Uganda. For God and My Country.

Yes indeed, it has been a hectic campaign time and we need to put thses behind us and move on.
Lets vote Sevo sevo...for another rap.

May the best candidate win and please losers accept the loss we are not ready to grumble about this.

first of all the Egyptian effect will have no effect on the Ugandan situation given the difference in culture and religion.
On whether people are ready to vote, i think yes given the fact that the youth are much more involved this time than last time.

Key Issues:
unemployment among the youth,corruption, poor infrastructure, especially the road network and the number of years the ruling government has been in power might be a deciding factor in these elections.

Master student of international relations and diplomatic studies
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I for one do not expect Uganda to have free and fair elections. The people of Uganda are ready to vote but the system (Electoral Commission) isn't, due to a lot that hasn't been done in preparation for the elections this leaves a big loop hole that works against fair elections and corruption is a vice that shall be used to make ends meet for some. As for the youth of Uganda we find it hard for the current government to fulfill our demands easily hence a change in the system would lead to a different approach to issues and new priorities would set in. For 25 years the country has had a steady Leadership and the economy has grown yearly not forgetting the population too but non of the growth has been translated in to infrastructure, services, hospitals etc to cope with the full blown population instead the reverse is true so it is honorable for the people of Uganda to fight for their rights if they are not being represented.

I think we are ready to vote. But there is a big problem even though president Museveni wins the vote fairly there will be very many doubting thomases because of the past elections were never democratic.I think it's catching up with him and his regime...

Yes Uganda is ready for elections though we don't have voter's cards, however I foresee many voters being chased from polling stations on grounds that their name are not in the register or for some reason cannot be identified. The biggest challenge is the larger part of the population of the country is still below the poverty line and illiterate. A mere bar of soap or half a kilogram of sugar is enough to convince the village person to change support rendering the whole voting process almost meaningless

Very interesting how Kampala is calm like there is political activity on going

I wish Ugandans a peace election period

I believe Ugandans generally have lost faith in use the electoral vote as an instrument of change. They are just watching the electoral gravy train go by: those who can pick some cherries from the train will do so. Others know that at some point the train will run out of steam and the passengers will come begging to them for much needed essentials which money and expended polical power cannot buy.
Such apathy whilst usful for the incumbert to remain in power, means no useful gavalnisation of national pride and purposeful development is in the offing.

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People are ready to vote in this country. I however hold a view that this democracy thing of voting as organized by long term self-serving politicians is way over rated. As a medical personnel i wish the money wasted in this exercise was spent improving health services in the the country, it would do this country more good than this fake business. I look forward to a time when we can change the constitution to have term limits and stop moving in circles!Oh God now the oil curse, like we do not have enough problems.

I am a white european and been following the newspapers in uganda for more than a year now. I live in a democracy and knows what it means. I predict heavy rigging and that Museveni will garner 83% of the vote.

Uganda is a beautiful country but there is no organisation at all, the drainage flows with the rainwater, the streets are dirty and full of potholes, no seperation of waste, corruption is rife.... entering Entebbe u can only see Museveni's poster so poignant stuck to every single pole or wall...even in the city centre his posters are so huge compared to the rest. Well invested people's money! How can he gets so many votes without rigging so much!

Uganda is the first country in the world where hospital patients went on strike and no one batted an eyelid, the health minister did not even make a comment, it was business as usual. This is the level on apathy the country has descended too.

To enable a mass protest as has happened in Tunisia and Egypt the masses have to be on the same level in Uganda everyone appears to be a different level

The Ruling Class - indulge in excess corruption and gross incompetence. Their failure to provide basic services like health and education has resulted in this being taken over by NGO's and private institutions they are quite happy to retain the status quo even if it means spending the budget bribing the electorate.

The Elite - They feed of the crumbs from the corruption of the ruling class, due to government incompetence and market liberalization policies, they have carved out businesses supplying goods and services to people who can afford them namely the ruling class and tourists and other elites. The removal of corruption and improvement of social services will limit their ability to make as much profit. People would send their children to public schools instead of private ones, and people would attend public hospitals instead of private ones. This group will not support any mass movement.

The middle class - have benefitted from the regime and hence why they are in the middle class, whilst they are not particularly happy with the government in regards to corruption and provision of social services, they realise they have more to gain from retaining the status quo. This group is not ready to put their lives on the firing line in order to demand change.

The Poor/ Peasants - These form the backbone of the NRM support. Indeed with the population explosion in recent years attributed mainly to peasants and poor families it is no surprise that the NRM increase its support.

History has shown than in free and fair elections no incumbent party has been able to increase its share of votes when standing for re-election, this is because in a free and fair society original supporters tend to get disillusioned with the party once in power hence why in most democracies it is unheard of for one party to stay in power for over 25 years. However the NRM will defy history and get a higher vote than previously obtained.

The only explanation (apart from rigging, which the NRM is to honest to do) would be because the peasant supporters of the NRM have been reproducing faster than the disgruntled Ugandans, therefore the NRM has basically given birth to new supporters.

The fact that Uganda has an association of Illiterates that fully backs the NRM shows how unique we are. The fact that most of the members are under 30 years old and do not attribute their illiteracy to the abysmal record of the NRM for the past 25 years in promoting mass literacy is mind blowing. To add sugar to the tea, the association erected a billboard showing its support for the president (NRM). I however suspect it may have missed its target audience.

like our forefathers before who sold fellow Africans to the slave traders for bling items like beads, mirrors we have been sold into economic slavery by the government spending money on luxury presidential jets, palaces, cars and all type of glitzy items.

A significant part of the population appears to be happy with the status quo i.e. the ruling class, the elite, the middle class and the peasants/poor. As a result the only people who are willing to put their lives on the line are idealist, patriots (of which there is short supply) and disgruntled educated individuals. The later will be too busy looking for their next meal and therefore unable to attend any rally which may end up with a public flogging by government vigilantes.

Therefore there is a very small percentage of Ugandans willing to face the brutality and excessive force of the armed forces, police and state sponsored thugs.

Ugandans live by the motto for God and My Stomach. Is there any point in an educated and disgruntled Uganda putting his life on the line to because he is cannot stand the way the uneducated/poor Ugandan is being denied decent education and health care despite the fact that the uneducated/poor Ugandan is content to live as he/she is and appears to continuously votes for the person who has put them in their poverty?

In the event that the election is rigged, there is an insufficient mass of Ugandans who are willing to stand up and demand change and put their lives on the line. Any protests will be crushed with brutal force and it will be back to business as usual until the next elections.

Mubarak and Ben Ali will have to wait for another 20 years before any leader from southern Africa joins them in the land of the deposed.

In actual sense Uganda has never been ready for elections. I even wonder why we should waste our time lining up that we are gonna vote. Elections in Uganda and Africa at large are extremely useless because by the time you go voting the electral commission has already chosen who the winner is gonna be. Come to uganda ma beloved motherland where we gonna cast our votes on friday. Its gonna be ma first time to vote but believe me or not we are gonna waste time coz everyone knows who the winner is already.I would actually recomend the government to reallocate the money given to the electoral commission to something else may be to projects that are gonna create jobs for youths especially those who have just graduated from universities.

I hope this will not be another African elections where the encumben use state resources to run their campaign at the disadvantage of the oppositions and at the end the encumben declares himself winner. Example is the situation in Ivory Coast combrate militant Gbagbo has refused to relinguish power. This is a clear manifestation that African leaders are not prepared for the practice of democracy. The result of the pending Ugandans elections can be predicted easily by anybody taking into account what being transpiring in recent time. What has been taking place in Africa relative to power struggles in Africa have made me to worry about the up-coming elections in Liberia. From Lincoln A.W. Bryant of Liberia.

Today in my village in Luweero we seen a steady stream of military men moving into the villages. To a ugandan this is a sign of intimidation. Some even feel that the soldiers will be watching on the polling day. Are we ready my answer NO!

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The Libyan leader Bro-Muammar Al-Gaddafi have made Multiparty Democracy in Africa useless, because what we seek for under the Multiparty Democracy like good jobs, housing , water and Transportation system, we don't have it. Multiparty Democracy only give us freedom to say your mind. but the The Libyan leader have provide good jobs, housing , water and Transportation system, for Libyan

@ comment 15 africans un-appreciative by making comparison with Mubarak . I would like to inform you that people have a right to ask for reforms and change. President Mubarak did a lot of good thing for his country Egypt and am sure Egyptians know that however the more he stayed in power everything became about him and his needs not those of his people and the same is here in Uganda. We will not keep talking about history like we have no future to worry about! Thanks to the NRM peace and stability however it is time to think about other needs of the people especially employment for the youth, improved social services and infrastructure. The true picture of Uganda is in the useless parliament whose function are on paper and is twisted to suit the need of the president. I also think the president has been given so much powers to deal with everything in the country and the other institutions have been rendered redundant. Now Mr. Ochora this is not the country we want, it is time out for scaring people with out past as we yearn for a better today and tomorrow.

Uganda is ready!!!It has been a long time coming and on Friday we shall decide.
The police are ready in case of any mayhem and best believe it is going to be a safe,free and fair.
All the previous campaigns were marred by violence but this time it has been peaceful.What more evidence do we need?
Let us exercise our vote and vote wisely.

The fact that people willingly shall go to vote portrays a trust in the system. Ugandans have a burning zeal to the polls than the traditional street way. There's absolutely no way Uganda can be likened to Egypt, the few Ugandans who take it to the street don't even demonstrate but rather riot and that proves the immaturity in expression of thoughts. There will be surely free and fair elections,like playing cards one has to keep their cards close to the chest lest the counter part will capitalize on the others carelessness. The onus is on all political players to guard their votes so that no one complains after the results have been declared.

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I think many ugandans would concur,we are av reacht a point where we no longa care whether we vote or not ;coz the results are always the sem.african politicians are just toyn with us. Opposition or pro-gov these are the birds of the sem feathers toyn with our heads and wen trouble arises they liv us to fight n kill ourselves.
Voting in africa has became a waste of energy.if u ask mi wat i wil b doing on voting day,i wud rather watch or movie or samthng.