Ugandans turned up in big numbers to elect their president (2016 – 2021) on February 18. A number of them, especially in Kampala and Wakiso, did not start the voting exercise until after 2pm; others didn’t have a chance to vote at all. From polling stations opening late to non-functional biometric kits, the process was a mess. If this is what the Electoral Commission (EC) could deliver after five years of preparations, then we need salvation in this country.
Many Ugandans have particularly castigated the EC for not only denying them their constitutional right to elect their leaders, but also for a lack of transparency in the whole process of tallying and announcing results. In fact, election observers agree to this end. But castigating EC chairman Badru Kiggundu is to direct the gun at a wrong party.
What the EC has exhibited is only a symptom of a much wider problem Uganda faces. In many cases, we struggle to address the symptoms without getting to the core of the problems. Just like a Reverend put it last Sunday, “everything in Uganda is sick – from sick hospitals, schools, etc., with some of the institutions not only sick but on oxygen and in the intensive care unit.
In project management, we use the analogy of 5Y (asking yourself why five times) to get to the root cause of any problem within an organisation. In many cases, what we see as problems, if you take a deeper analysis, you will realise that they are symptoms of a much bigger problem and unless that problem is tackled, the symptoms can never go away but only manifest themselves in different forms within your organisation. If we apply this analogy to the current situation of the electoral commission and Uganda, we shall actually discover that it is not Kiggundu and his team with the problem.
So (Y1): Why did Kiggundu declare what many consider not to be the right candidate to have won the presidential elections? Well, you can have several answers to this first (Y). We all know how the EC was constituted and how the commissioners have over the years been appointed. We also know that the President has often appointed ‘cadres’ to run state corporations. Would you expect these people to behave otherwise?
Whereas on several occasions the EC has indicated that it is independent, this has only remained in form and word as its actions have demonstrated otherwise. The EC lacks independence and we can’t expect them to deliver what they don’t have.
(Y2): Why then does the EC lack independence? We know that over the last 30 years of the NRM rule, independence of State institutions has collapsed. In many cases the regime has appointed failed politicians at helm of many of these institutions. These people will have to deliver what is expected of their master. This situation is not knew to EC, as we have seen it play elsewhere.
(Y3): So why are Ugandan institutions the way they are – lacking independence? It comes back to the big issue of governance and accountability. By destroying the independence of these institutions, the regime assumes control over them and gets the leaders of the institutions to work towards addressing the demands of the master. This is what happens when governance structures break down and countries derail from the democratic path.
The flaws we see in many State corporations are rooted in a much bigger problem – but we only seem to be massaging the symptoms. Until we address the underlying root cause – returning to proper democratic credential – we shouldn’t expect miracles.
Mr Were is a Financial Inclusion Specialist. were.nathan@gmail.com
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