Pre-colonial African monarchs enjoyed uncontested power and sovereignty. The reigning kings were obsessed with the protection of the throne, and thus could not hesitate decapitating, immolating or mutilating those perceived as threats to their rule. However, sometimes these rulers would ruthlessly do all that to innocent loyal subjects, and also genourously donate, not because they’re generous, but to display their might and frighten their enemies.
Regimes in independent African pseudo democracies inherited traits from their precolonial ancestors; particularly those related to clinging on power. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) mastered this art and tactfully employs her party primaries to conquer the opposition and electorate just moments to the start of the general elections, and cunningly maneuver to ‘success’.
The primaries were designed to overshadow the opposition and frighten the masses into indecision and oblivious to change.
The NRM employs three missiles in their primaries strategy: violence, money and statistics to manipulate the masses and drive them away from regime change which is overdue. These missiles profit on inherent gullibility of the Ugandan populace. I will labor to expound each missile and show how it taints the road to 2021 general elections.
Violence! The human being is naturally antagonistic to violence and always try to avoid it. The NRM having understood this very well, and with lessons from precolonial rulers, they set their members against each other to scare the opposition and electorate.
The constant occurrence of violent episodes throughout the NRM primaries is neither accidental nor usual. While political squabbling and skirmishes maybe forgiven, the violence that has claimed lives and left scores wounded can’t and should have been avoided or checked if the party really wanted to.
I dare the NRM to show if they have ever taken any serious decisions to curb violent elections. What actions has the party taken against candidates that command notorious groups or those that directly shoot to kill Ugandans? Is party membership absolute that party leadership cannot reign over rowdy and violent contestants? Cant the party disqualify or expel such members?
Violent nationwide party primaries on the eve of the general electoral process sends signals of fear among Ugandans, forcing many to step back from fully participating in the general elections for fear of violence.
Money! The ruling party has exploited their access to the national treasury and the country’s resources to block the possibility of a free and fair election. The impoverished population cannot be impervious to this ‘evil money’. We have seen NRM candidates carrying whopping chunks of money in sacks to the community.
The money was used in two ways: one, to bribe opponents to step down perhaps explaining why some candidates were unopposed, and two, to buy the vote by giving voters from as low as five hundred shillings (ekido), to cast in favor of a given candidate. I saw voters being paid to cross from the opponent’s que in the middle of an election! Shame!
Both strategies have worked. The talk in the villages now is not about who has the credentials to serve, but who has the money. I have not seen the NRM disqualifying candidates for bribing voters which is a grave election malpractice. It is on record that most NRM flag bearers bribed into the general elections, a culture they cannot part with. So we are set to witness the next money flashing episode!
Statistics! The NRM primaries is the most rigged election in Uganda. The NRM has mastered the use of numbers to hoodwink the population by makig the party appear popular. The just concluded elections having employed an antiquated election method lining in queues automatically limited the voters for a number of reasons; most especially personal security and the need for all voters to be at the polling station at the same time.
However, the candidates and their agents; and interestingly the polling officials, participated in the inflation of figures by adding ones and zeros. A polling station that had 20 voters ended up having 200 by the time the declaration forms reached the tally center.
The rigging culture is sacred in NRM. The party chairman in fact dignified the rigging. He strongly warned those, who are outsmarted not to show dissatisfaction by contesting as independent candidates. By doing so, they violate the sacred rigging culture and risk expulsion from the cult.
The figures that were announced by the rigging officers (read returning officers) didn’t reflect the turn up. The human race has a tendency to side with winners and thus the one that presents himself to be having control on big numbers is likely to win more. Some NRM candidates are walking into the general election, having obtained rigged numbers either equivalent or higher than those a winner shall score in the 2021 general elections.
The opposition candidates ought to work smart if they are to favorably compete with candidates that triumphed through such a system. The Simon Byabakama led Independent Electoral Commission (I dont know why my fingers were shaking while typing this), ought to have come out with stern position against the violation of the spirit of free and fair elections exhibited in the NRM primaries. Their deafening silence is alarming.
The EC should be discredited if it nominates without caution, NRM candidates whose success in primaries, was a result of profound election malpractice. The entire process and the silence of the electoral commission has tainted road to the 2021 general elections and a clear indication that the ground for free and fair elections is not leveled.
The author is a sociopolitical commentator
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