Description of Electoral System:

(courtesy of IFES election guide)

The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term. In the National Assembly, 214 members are elected by direct popular vote, 81 members are nominated by legally established special interest groups, and 10 members are ex officio; all serve 5-year terms.Of the special interest group members, there are 56 Women Representatives representing each district.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

WANT MORE ELECTION RELATED STATS FOR UGANDA? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR comparative data on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.

Political history

(courtesy of history world)

Britain granted Uganda full internal self-government in March 1962. In the following month Obote was elected prime minister. It is he who negotiated the terms of the constitution under which Uganda became independent in October 1962. The constitution gave Uganda  federal status and a degree of autonomy to four traditional kingdoms, of which Buganda was by far the most powerful. In the same spirit Obote approved the election in 1963 of the kabaka, Mutesa II, to the largely ceremonial role of president and head of state.

In 1966 Obote introduced a new constitution that abolished the hereditary kingdoms, ended the nation's federal structure and provided for an executive president - a post taken by Obote himself in addition to his role as prime minister.

In 1971, when Obote was abroad, his regime was toppled in a coup led by Idi Amin. Obote settled just over the border from Uganda in neighbouring Tanzania. In 1978 Amin invaded Tanzania giving the then Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, the opportunity not only to repel Amin's army but also to topple him with the Tanzanian troops joining forces with Obote's private army who reached Kampala in April 1979. Amin fleed to Saudi Arabia as an an exile.

During the following twelve months that followed, there were two interim governments led by returning Ugandan exiles. But in May 1980 a Ugandan general, Tito Okello, organizes a coup which brought Obote back into power and a a general election held six months later confirmed Obote as president.

Yoweri Museveni was briefly Uganda's minister of defence during the interim government after the fall of Amin. When Obote returns to power as president in 1980, and his party (the UPC) won a majority in elections widely regarded as fraudulent, Museveni refused to accept this turning back of the clock. He withdrew into the bush and formed a guerrilla group, subsequently known as the National Resistance Army (NRA).

During the 1980s the NRA steadily extends the area of southern and western Uganda under its control. And Okello, after toppling Obote in 1985, proves no match for Museveni.

Most recent election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

The Ugandan general election of 2006 took place on February 23, 2006. This was the first multiparty election since Yoweri Museveni, the current president, took over power in 1986. Six candidates contested for the Presidential office, and at least 33 parties were expected to enter the Parliamentary and District chairperson elections.

Yoweri Museveni ran for re-election. His main opponent the leader of the opposition party Forum for Democratic Change, Kizza Besigye. Besigye was arrested on November 14, 2005 on allegations of treason, concealment of treason, and rape. The treason case included his alleged links to the rebel groups, Lord's Resistance Army and People's Redemption Army, and the rape charge referred to an incident in November 1997 allegedly involving the daughter of a friend. The arrest led to demonstrations and riots in Kampala and towns around the country. Pro-Besigye protesters believed the charges were fabricated to stop Besigye from challenging Museveni.

Official figures released on February 25, 2006 showed Museveni had won 59% of the vote, giving him a third term as President, while main rival Kizza Besigye took 37%. Opposition supporters in Kampala staged some protests but were dispersed by riot police with tear gas. On 6 April, the Supreme Court of Uganda rejected Besigye's request to dismiss the poll by a vote of four to three, though a majority agreed that there had been electoral irregularities.