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The special interest group elections including the recent village youth committee elections held on Thursday this week saw the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party continuing its dominance, securing victories even in opposition strongholds, particularly in central Uganda.
According to the Electoral Commission spokesperson Julius Musinguzi, the elections were largely peaceful, with only isolated disruptions reported in urban areas.
However, the NRM’s sweeping success in these grassroots elections has been met with skepticism from elements within the opposition, who argue that the results are not significant.
Opposition Criticises the Relevance of the Elections
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Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Interim spokesperson for the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), expressed his views on the elections, sating the opposition losses are not important.
“I don’t think NRM winning special interest groups is news. Political parties do not pay attention to these structures because while they can give some comfort about the numbers, they are useless,” he said.
Nganda shared his personal experience of serving in the Youth Council at Makerere University, noting that the council never met once during his term.
The Kira Municipality MP also pointed to violence and heavy-handed tactics as factors that marred the process.
He claimed that in many villages, including his own constituency in Kira, police obstructed opposition candidates from registering, and polling officers were largely aligned with the NRM.
He wrote to the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, questioning if this was how the general elections would be handled next year.
“In Bukasa village, the NRM registrar was the polling assistant; in other places, there was a lot of tear gas and shooting. This election was run by the police, ISO, and the NRM,” he said.
NRM is said to have swept the village youth elections
Security and Patronage Claims from Opposition Leaders
Benjamin Katana, the national treasurer of the National Unity Platform (NUP), also described the elections as a mere ritual.
He stated, “This is the first time that the opposition has attempted to participate in these special interest groups elections. The process is just a ritual. It is largely run by security agencies.”
Katana further argued that the elections were part of the NRM’s broader patronage system, which he believes is aimed at manipulating the public perception ahead of the general elections.
“The NRM knows that its support has waned, and it’s preparing to rig the general election,” he claimed. According to Katana, the special interest group elections were an attempt to create voter apathy by presenting an image of an “unstoppable” NRM victory.
Even within the ruling NRM, some members, such as Dancun Abigaba, have questioned the relevance of these grassroots elections.
He acknowledged that while NRM victories are celebrated, the special interest group structures are not as significant as they are made out to be.
“The structures of the special interest groups, right from the village level, are not that important because they are usually silent. In the budget process, the government does not allocate resources to keep those structures relevant,” Abigaba stated.
He added that, during his own time in such structures, meetings were few and far between, with no substantial work being done.
Minister Defends the Elections
However, the Minister of State for Tourism, Martin Mugarra, defended the elections, insisting that the chaos reported in urban areas, like Kampala, was an isolated issue.
He maintained that in the villages, where the elections had greater significance, the process went smoothly, with most of the seats being retained by the NRM. Mugarra’s comments reflect the government’s stance that the elections were a success and helped maintain political stability at the local level.