The electoral political season is getting almost done. The victors are in celebrations. The losers are counting their losses. It’s more difficult for the losers. This is largely due to the nature of investment, both financially and emotionally. The biggest problem with African and indeed Ugandan political actors is conceding defeat where it is clearly deserving.
It is indeed hard for those that did not have it in their favour. There are those that might even develop mental breakdown. Others might withdraw from society to first recover from the shock. However, the earlier they recollect themselves and move on the better. After all, in this exercise winners and losers were inevitable.
The attrition rate for the sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) is way above 70% and to most Ugandans this was meant to happen. President Yoweri Museveni has warned the MPs on several occasions not to use money or give unstainable promises to the voters. However, the desperation of the contesters to win the election make them go overboard and give false promises that they later fail to achieve. The result is that they get voted out on the next round of the election.
Therefore, reading Hon. Medard Sseggona and Hon. Ibrahim Ssemuju’s conceding defeat in the just concluded parliamentary elections sounded rare and shocking. Comments on the why they lost elections were mature, something that is not common in Uganda. They conceded defeat honourably and congratulated the victors. Hon. Ssegona took this a notch higher when he promised to offer any useful advice to the man who defeated him in the event, he requested it.
The two members of Parliament were quoted by several media houses accepting the outcome of the concluded parliamentary elections. This is a rare gesture in Uganda where losing an election is unacceptable. In fact, some losers end up doing the most despicable acts like organising goons to attack and harm the victors.
Competing for the political offices, however rewarding they can be, should not make people look at each other as enemies. There is always more to live for beyond the rewards that come with such positions. In any case, those positions are not permanent; the very reason they are competed for every five years.
To such bad losers, an election is a zero-sum game where the participant expects nothing short of victory. It is a do or die affair. Indeed, in such circumstances the losers end up losing their heads as well and if not restrained can end up with suicidal thoughts.
Accepting a political loss after a hot, intensely contested election—often characterized by a public concession speech—is a fundamental, though non-legally binding tradition in healthy democracies. It represents a “graceful celebration of democracy” that signals the end of electoral “warfare,” promotes national stability and facilitates the peaceful transfer of power.
A concession is a voluntary act where the losing candidate acknowledges the winner, often via a personal call followed by a public, televised speech. This also serves as a necessary ceremony that allows supporters to accept the outcome and begin healing, preventing long-term bitterness between opposing factions.
Conceding defeat is not cowardly or showing you weren’t the best candidate, to the contrary it shows humility and maturity. It is a moment to place the country above personal disappointment. It encourages supporters to accept the results, ensuring that the winner can govern effectively.
Both Hon. Ssemujju and Hon. Ssegona had represented their constituencies for not less than 15 terms. They had offered all they could to their voters. True, they felt they still had some energy to represent their constituencies, but the majority voters felt they were more convinced by their opponents. This is not to say that they had not represented their constituencies good enough. Far from that. But mankind, being who they are, tend to surprise you when you least expect them. And that is what they exactly did.
Graceful acceptance of defeat reinforces the democratic norm that “partisan feeling must yield to patriotism”. As a people, we must encourage such a culture if we to advance our democratic gains.
A prompt concession signals that the electoral system, despite a heated contest, is legitimate. In contentious elections, refusing to concede defeat can cause deep political divisions and threaten social order.
As I write, one of the losers in the last presidential election, Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi has denied conceding defeat and gone into self-imposed hiding. Refusing to concede defeat, won’t change the results the Electoral Commission announced. The only remedy available can only be courts of law that Hon. Kyagulanyi is reluctant to engage.
Elections come and go. The 2026 general elections are literally done. It is time to heal and we move on with our lives. It is time to allow peace to return to our towns and villages. Work that propels self improvement had stalled because of the political season. Our people need peace and calm to return to their gardens and other forms of enterprises to work and add value to their lives.
The writer is the Ag. Executive Director
Uganda Media Centre
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