The article presents an update on the upcoming Uganda election, scheduled for January 15th.
Uganda is an authoritarian dictatorship run by Yoweri Museveni who holds sham elections.
Nonetheless, he is being challenged by a rather brave young activist named Bobi Wine.
The article describes the situation without being unrealistically optimistic about the prospects for Uganda. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good. But it’s still valuable to be informed. The article also describes how things could get much worse in the worst case scenario, which is very ugly.
East Africa is an important region which is sliding in the wrong direction. Tanzania slid into total authoritarianism at the end of 2024. Rwanda is involved in a war in eastern Congo (Uganda has historically also been involved in that conflict). South Sudan is not doing well at all, and neither are the Horn of Africa countries. Only Kenya is somewhat democratic, although illiberal.
This article is relevant to anybody on this sub who is interested in keeping up to date with the progress, setbacks and challenges for democracy globally.
DudleyFluffles on
The article seems to overstate the power of the opposition. Ignoring the fact that Museveni has a powerful ally in the form in Rwanda’s Paul Kagame (they worked together in the Congo war), the government still seems to somehow have local legitimacy:
>55% see the last election in 2021 as free and fair, and 54% believe they are living in a democracy, even with problems.
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**Submission statement**
The article presents an update on the upcoming Uganda election, scheduled for January 15th.
Uganda is an authoritarian dictatorship run by Yoweri Museveni who holds sham elections.
Nonetheless, he is being challenged by a rather brave young activist named Bobi Wine.
The article describes the situation without being unrealistically optimistic about the prospects for Uganda. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good. But it’s still valuable to be informed. The article also describes how things could get much worse in the worst case scenario, which is very ugly.
East Africa is an important region which is sliding in the wrong direction. Tanzania slid into total authoritarianism at the end of 2024. Rwanda is involved in a war in eastern Congo (Uganda has historically also been involved in that conflict). South Sudan is not doing well at all, and neither are the Horn of Africa countries. Only Kenya is somewhat democratic, although illiberal.
This article is relevant to anybody on this sub who is interested in keeping up to date with the progress, setbacks and challenges for democracy globally.
The article seems to overstate the power of the opposition. Ignoring the fact that Museveni has a powerful ally in the form in Rwanda’s Paul Kagame (they worked together in the Congo war), the government still seems to somehow have local legitimacy:
>55% see the last election in 2021 as free and fair, and 54% believe they are living in a democracy, even with problems.
50% isn’t great but that’s plenty sufficient mandate for an authoritarian. Democracies [have experienced](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/02/poll-biden-2020-election-illegitimate) similar conditions.
I doubt much will come from this, even if the West decided to apply pressure. Which they won’t.
Edit: Clarity