The Uganda Electoral Commission (EC) provides national elections for a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

and a

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

. The president is elected for a five-year term. The

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

is composed of members directly elected to represent constituencies, and one woman representative for every

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

; as well representatives of special interest groups, including the army, youth, workers and persons with disabilities.

Overview

The first national election in Uganda was the Uganda National Assembly election of 1962. An alliance between the

Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; sw, Congress ya Watu wa Uganda) is a political party in Uganda. UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner ...

(UPC) and Kabaka Yekka (KY) won the majority of parliamentary seats, and formed Uganda's first post-independence government with Obote as executive Prime Minister. A period of dictatorship and political strife, including the tenures of

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

, Yusuf Lule and Godfrey Binaisa, meant no elections were held until the presidential election of December 1980. Obote was pronounced the winner amid bitter dispute and allegations of electoral fraud.

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

, one of the presidential aspirants, declared an armed rebellion, and waged a guerrilla war (the

Ugandan Bush War The Ugandan Bush War, also known as the Luwero War, the Ugandan Civil War or the Resistance War, was a civil war fought in Uganda by the official Ugandan government and its armed wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), against a number o ...

) against the government of Obote. Museveni's

National Resistance Army The National Resistance Army (NRA), the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Ugandan Bush War or Luwero War, against the government of Milton Obote, and ...

(NRA) took power in 1986 from the government of Gen.

Tito Okello Lutwa Tito Lutwa Okello (1914 – 3 June 1996) was a Ugandan military officer and politician. He was the eighth president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986. Background Tito Okello was born into an ethnic Acholi family in circa 1914 ...

who had six months earlier toppled Obote's UPC government in a July 27, 1985 military coup, making him president. Museveni and his

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla w ...

(NRM) created a form of " no-party democracy", banning political parties from fielding candidates directly in elections. In the "no-party" presidential election in 1996, Museveni defeated Paul Ssemogerere and

Mohamed Mayanja Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: *Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

by a landslide. Although international and domestic observers described the vote as valid, both the losing candidates rejected the results. In the following presidential election, held in 2001, Museveni won by a substantial majority, with Kizza Besigye as the only real challenger. Despite a protest against the results, citing massive voter intimidation and rigging, the outcome was accepted by the

Supreme Court of Uganda The Supreme Court of Uganda is the highest judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the 1995 Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court with original jurisdiction in only one type of case: a presidential electio ...

. In the 2005 constitutional referendum, Ugandans voted to restore a

multi-party political system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...

, lifting the 19-year restriction on the activities of political parties. The 2006 general election was the first multiparty election in 25 years. Museveni won 59% of the presidential vote, and his party, the

, won the majority of parliamentary seats. Pop star and opposition leader with

Bobi Wine Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan politician, singer, and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region. He also leads ...

has announced his intention to challenge Museveni for the presidency in the 2021 election.

Latest elections

Presidential elections

Parliamentary elections

References

External links