The politics of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

occurs in an

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan civil war,

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

has ruled Uganda as an

autocrat Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism. ...

Political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

were banned from 1986 to 2006 in the wake of the 2005 Ugandan multi-party referendum which was won by pro-democracy forces. Since 2006, Museveni has used legal means, patronage, and violence to maintain power. Under the Ugandan constitution, Uganda is a

presidential republic A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...

in which the

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is given to both the government and the National Assembly. The system is based on a democratic parliamentary system with equal rights for all citizens over 18 years of age.

Political culture

After taking power after a five-year civil war in 1986, the authoritarian Yoweri Museveni regime banned political parties from campaigning in elections or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A

constitutional referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

canceled this 19-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005. Presidential elections were held in February 2006. Museveni ran against several candidates, of whom the most prominent was the exiled Dr.

Kizza Besigye Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe (; born 22 April 1956), commonly known by his nickname Colonel Dr. Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician, and former military officer. He served as the president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ...

. Museveni was declared the winner. Besigye alleged fraud, and rejected the result. 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 electi ...

ruled that the election was marred by intimidation, violence,

voter disenfranchisement Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) or voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing someo ...

, and other irregularities. However, the Court voted 4-3 to uphold the results of the election.

Executive

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement (; 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 war through its rebel wing National ...

, 26 January 1986 , - ,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Robinah Nabbanja Robinah Nabbanja (born 17 December 1969) is an Ugandan educator and politician. She is the first female and current Prime Minister of Uganda. She was formally confirmed by the Parliament on 21 June 2021 replacing Ruhakana Rugunda, who was then ...

, 21 June 2021 The

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

in Uganda is the

, who is elected by a popular vote to a five-year term. This is currently Yoweri Museveni, who is also the head of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. The previous presidential elections were in February 2011, and in the election of February 2016, Museveni was elected with 68 percent of the vote. The cabinet is appointed by the president from among the elected legislators. The

prime minister of Uganda The prime minister of Uganda chairs the Cabinet of Uganda, although the President of Uganda, president is the effective head of government. The prime minister is appointed by the president with the approval of Parliament of Uganda, Parliament. ...

, Robina Nabbanja, assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet. The

Cabinet of Uganda There are 30 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026). The number of state ministers reduced by one in September 2024 after the death of Hon. Sarah Mateke who was the state minister for defence. Accor ...

, according to the Constitution of Uganda, "shall consist of the President, the

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and such number of Ministers as may appear to the President to be reasonably necessary for the efficient running of the State."

Ministries of Uganda

The below are the ministries in Uganda: *

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

* Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs * Ministry of Public Service * Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development * Ministry of Education and Sports * Ministry for Karamoja Affairs * Ministry of Local Government * Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation * Ministry of Health * Ministry of Works and Transport * Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Development *

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

* Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities * Ministry of Water and Environment * Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development * Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development * Ministry of Security * Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs * Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries * Ministry of Information and Communications Technology * Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees * Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives

Political parties and elections

Presidential elections

The most recent presidential elections in Uganda were held on 14 January 2021 featuring 11 aspirants comprising 10 men and 1 woman. The announced but contested results are as follows; Source: Uganda Electoral Commission In this 2021 election, the pop star-turned-politician

Bobi Wine Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (born 12 February 1982), also popularly known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan activist, politician, singer, lawyer and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wak ...

(also known as Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu) was runner-up and challenged the election results in the country's highest court (

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

), seeking to overturn Museveni's victory. The highly contested election was marred with violence; the European Parliament voiced outrage and condemnation, calling for sanctions against individuals and organisations responsible for human rights violations in Uganda. The results of the most recent

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

from 2021 are as below:

Parliamentary elections

The results of the most recent

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

from 2021 are as below:

Judiciary

The Ugandan judiciary operates as an independent branch of government and consists of magistrate's courts, high courts, courts of appeal (which organizes itself as the

Constitutional Court of Uganda The Court of Appeal of Uganda (also constituted as the Constitutional Court of Uganda) is the second-highest judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 134 of the 1995 Constitution. It is an appellate court when hearing case ...

when hearing constitutional issues), and the Supreme Court. Judges for the High Court are appointed by the president; Judges for the Court of Appeal are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature.

Foreign relations

A fight between the

n and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n presidential guards sparked chaos during a ceremony attended by the heads of state from 11 African nations on March 19, 2008.

International organization participation

References

Sources

Uganda's opposition join forces
(

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 16 February 2004)
"Uganda 'night commuters' flee rebel brutality"
(

Yahoo News Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...

, October 17, 2005) * Tripp, Aili Mari, ''Museveni’s Uganda: Paradoxes of Power in a Hybrid Regime'', Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010.

External links

Parliament of UgandaState House of Uganda
Christina Nyströmee {{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Of Uganda