Connect Uganda - Will African leaders ever be determined by the ballot?

Will African leaders ever be determined by the ballot?

Written by Kamulegeya Wesonga

As we welcome the new year, we are so touched by our brothers and sisters of Kenya with all the chaos and death they have gone through due to what one of the loosing parties has called “crying out for democracy” giving Uganda a lesson to learn. This reminds me of what Mr Museveni said once that a mere vote couldn’t take him just like a chicken thief.

Now the question is “will African leaders ever be determined by a vote?” Most electoral colleges employ people of the ruling parties in Africa. So how should one expect to get fair and free elections, when an institution which is supposed to be independent is one sided?

KENYA.

Kenya, until the recent elections was the most peaceful country in East and South Africa; seen as the model African country by both USA and Europeans, to the extent that some European countries preferred to put embassies in Kenya to represent them in all the three East African countries.

Kenyans like any other East African have been divided into two social groups; the middle class which consist of the Luo and other smaller tribes and the upper class which consists of the Kikuyu.

Violence in Kenya during December 2007 elections

With the Luo and the other smaller tribes being under Raila Odinga, it is believed that the crashes were brought as a result of a small gap between the votes got by the two main presidential candidates. The people who supported Odinga saw him as a god who was to brush out all the poverty from the middle class, thus with any mistake the electoral commission could make, it meant there was cheating by Kibaki. So this could be the cause.

Also it should be noted that Kenya’s appointment system into public institutions does not defer from that of Uganda, there is a big chance that election was full of malpractice. So this cannot be ruled out.

UGANDA.

In Uganda, to get an appointment in the electoral commission, you have to apply for it. But with even advertisement of the vacancies, the appointment process is characterised with bias.

So, what is the lesson to learn from Kenya? What should Uganda do to avoid such scenarios which have left more than 200 dead? Is Uganda ready for any kind of situation similar to that of Kenya?

Will African leaders ever be determined by a ballot if there are no common law or guidelines to be followed by the African states on election?