Deprived of reforms, Uganda's 2016 Elections Means Nothing

ELECTORAL REFORMS

An opinion in the Saturday Monitor of May 30, 2015, “My bet is 80% of current MPs may not be returned” reinforced my confidence that the demand for electoral reforms in Uganda is a unanimous national consensus.

In that article, Mr. Bisiika recognizes that Uganda has an insensitive regime whose objectives are mutually exclusive of those espoused by the ordinary Ugandans. In my purview of things, Mr. Bisiika’s assessment of the regime is what this electoral reform is all about – restoring trust and confidence in our governance.

The reform agitation shows that people are placing value on our electoral processes as an alternative means of mediation for contentious ideas, and settling outstanding policy differences.

Many detractors who argue that Uganda is a stable country should think twice. A stable nation is not petrified of change. This fear of reforms by NRM shows that Uganda is not as stable, after all. What are the Mambas on the streets for? A stable and dynamic system should be naturally adaptable to change, since change is inevitable and time factored. However, we can amicably mediate change through national consensus such as electoral reforms.

The main reason the NRM regime fears reforms in electoral mechanism is that it is a beneficiary of that phony system. It is characteristic of regimes that are product of fraud to exude traits of duplicity and immodesty. It can only procure legitimacy by brute force.

If the demands for basic reforms such as free and fair elections threaten the stability of this country, then what about a demise of those leaders?

Uganda has suffered from deterioration of social trust because of this fraudulent contract. Stable nations are founded on strong social capital constructs where people have trust in public institutions, and value civic engagement. In Uganda, the seeds of distrust were sown through fraudulent electoral processes and enactment of repressive laws such as the Public Order Management Act. 

A flawed system allows for the retention of insensitive state agents and corrupted institutions, which in turn invalidates the electoral processes, making people distrustful of politicians, public institutions, and government.

It is important to emphasize that the urgency of electoral reforms supersedes that of 2016 or subsequent general elections. We must fix our electoral institution now!

If we continue to uphold a flawed system, we shall continue to depreciate in trust of government, and our government will feel no obligation to account to the masses since they can always steal to retain power and privileges.

Because of all these election stealing, Ugandans have become very distrustful and rightfully paranoid. In fact, distrust has become a form of social institution, which has deprived our society of the basic principle of reciprocity. In every home, the growing sizes of padlocks, the steel doors and windows or high wall enclaves demonstrate how people are paranoid. 

The widespread apathy towards corrupt government officials and institutions, such as hospitals, police services, local government services, all illustrate how people have become distrustful and apathetic to their own institutions.

Today, government transaction costs are extremely high. People are corrupt and are not remorseful about it because distrust has demolished mutually beneficial co-operation.

The same government exploits and benefits from this distrust or social predation mechanisms. Since everyone is simply distrustful of the other, people cannot effectively organize or build a cohesive and credible force to challenge the regime. People are distrustfully paranoid and distanced from each other and socialize only for purely selfish and individual interests.

Even cooperatives are no longer viable as it used to be in the past. Social clubs are exclusive and for show-offs, for the 1% wealthy. Therefore, the first step to restoring trust in our government and public institution is by fixing the institutions that conveys the people’s will and enforces accountable. This is why the current demand for electoral reforms is a national imperative.

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