Presidential elections in Uganda 2006
The presidential elections in Uganda took place on February 23, 2006 at the same time as the parliamentary elections. The winner of the election, with a turnout of 65.83 percent of the 10,450,788 eligible voters, was the previous incumbent Yoweri Museveni from the National Resistance Movement , who received 59.28 percent of the vote and thus his competitor Kizza Besigye from the Forum for Democratic Change , who won 37 , 36 percent got hit.
The elections were the first multi-party elections since December 10, 1980 and thus the second ever in Uganda's history , after the no-party or de facto one-party system, which allowed the National Resistance Movement as the only political umbrella organization, had been abolished in 2005 . In the 19,786 polling stations the 284 members of parliament were elected at the same time.
Five candidates ran for election, in addition to the favorites and only candidates with real chances of victory Yoweri Museveni and Kizza Besigye, these were Miria Obote ( Uganda People's Congress ), the widow of former President Milton Obote , who died in 2005 , Abed Bwanika (independent candidate) and John Ssebaana Kizito ( Democratic Party ).
The candidates Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja ( Justice Forum ) and Ken Lukyamuzi ( Conservative Party ) had withdrawn their candidacies before the election date. Even Nasser Sebaggala from the Democratic Party had to register as an independent candidate, but soon moved his candidacy and declared his support for John Ssebaana Kizito.
Museveni was actually no longer allowed to run because the constitution only provided for two five-year terms for a president (Museveni had already ruled ten years as transitional president before his first official term). Only a constitutional amendment, which he pushed through, made it possible for him to run again.
Museveni's main competitor Besigye was arrested in a smear campaign on November 14, 2005 on charges of treason, support for terrorist groups and rape. He was released in January 2006 and acquitted of rape charges in February. Because of the treason, the proposed trial before a military tribunal was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Museveni was re-elected with 59.28 percent, Besigye received 37.36 percent of the vote. Kizito won 1.59 percent, Bwanika 0.95 percent and Obote 0.82 percent of the vote.
Results
| Candidate - Nominating Party | be right | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yoweri Museveni - National Resistance Movement | 4,109,449 | 59.26 |
| Kizza Besigye - Forum for Democratic Change | 2,592,954 | 37.39 |
| John Ssebaana Kizito - Democratic Party | 109 583 | 1.58 |
| Abed Bwanika - Independent | 65 874 | 0.95 |
| Miria Obote - Uganda People's Congress | 57 071 | 0.82 |
| Total | 6,934,931 | 100.00 |
| Source: New Vision magazine, Electoral Commission of Uganda | ||
criticism
The Ugandans faced the presidential and parliamentary elections with mixed feelings, although it was the first time that several electoral lists could apply. In the run-up to the elections, there were some unrest, so that many fear a renewed civil war. EU - election observers criticized the election as unfair, because the only end of 2005 from the exile returned opposition leader Kizza Besigye immediately for alleged treason was brought to justice. Besigye criticized this as politically motivated.
The "Forum for Democratic Change" spoke of electoral fraud because the results deviated far from an independent count in 19,000 of the polling stations , and wants to contest President Museveni's alleged election victory. Shortly before the election, he had the constitution changed to allow for a third term.
The simultaneous parliamentary election (284 MPs) would, however, represent a step forward if it were to lead to the first democratic parliamentary debates.
