View source for Politics of Uganda

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{{Politics of Uganda}}

The '''politics of [[Uganda]]''' occurs in an [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the [[Ugandan Bush War|Ugandan civil war]], [[Yoweri Museveni]] has ruled Uganda as a [[dictator]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last1=Makara |first1=Sabiti |title=Uganda |date=2023 |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/60999 |work=Democratic Backsliding in Africa? |pages=212–234 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-286732-2 |last2=Wang |first2=Vibeke|hdl=20.500.12657/60999 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tapscott |first=Rebecca |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/49735 |title=Arbitrary States |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-885647-4 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198856474.001.0001|hdl=20.500.12657/49735 }}</ref> [[Political party|Political parties]] were banned from 1986 to 2006 in the wake of the [[2005 Ugandan multi-party referendum]] which was won by pro-democracy forces.<ref name=":0" /> Since 2006, Museveni has used legal means, patronage, and violence to maintain power.<ref name=":0" />

Under the [[Constitution of Uganda|Ugandan constitution]], Uganda is a [[Presidential system|presidential republic]] in which the [[President of Uganda|President]] is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is given to both the government and the National Assembly. The system is based on a democratic parliamentary system with equal rights for all citizens over 18 years of age.
{{Democracy Index rating|Uganda|hybrid regime|2022}}

==Political culture==

[[File:Idi Amin at UN (United Nations, New York) gtfy.00132 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Idi Amin]], one of the most notable of Ugandan presidents.|265x265px]]

After taking power after a five-year civil war in 1986, the authoritarian Yoweri Museveni regime banned political parties from campaigning in elections or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A [[Ugandan multi-party referendum, 2005|constitutional referendum]] canceled this 19-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Change in Uganda: A New Opening? |url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/change-in-uganda-a-new-opening/ |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=Journal of Democracy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Presidential elections were held in February 2006. Museveni ran against several candidates, of whom the most prominent was the exiled Dr. [[Kizza Besigye]]. Museveni was declared the winner. Besigye alleged fraud, and rejected the result. The [[Supreme Court of Uganda]] ruled that the election was marred by intimidation, violence, [[voter disenfranchisement]], and other irregularities. However, the Court voted 4-3 to uphold the results of the election.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4750040.stm "Uganda's Museveni wins election"], ''BBC'', 25 February 2006</ref>

==Executive==

[[Image:Yoweri Museveni.jpg|thumb|[[Yoweri Museveni]], current [[President of Uganda]].]]

{{office-table}}
|[[President of Uganda|President]]
|[[Yoweri Museveni]]
|[[National Resistance Movement]]
|26 January 1986
|-
|[[Prime Minister of Uganda|Prime Minister]]
|[[Robinah Nabbanja]]
|[[National Resistance Movement]]
|21 June 2021
|}

The [[head of state]] in Uganda is the [[President of Uganda|President]], who is elected by a popular vote to a five-year term. This is currently Yoweri Museveni, who is also the head of the [[Uganda People's Defense Force|armed forces]]. The previous presidential elections were in February 2011, and in the election of February 2016, Museveni was elected with 68 percent of the vote. The cabinet is appointed by the president from among the elected legislators. The [[prime minister of Uganda]], [[Robinah Nabbanja|Robina Nabbanja]], assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The [[Cabinet of Uganda]], according to the Constitution of Uganda, "shall consist of the President, the [[Vice President of Uganda|Vice President]] and such number of Ministers as may appear to the President to be reasonably necessary for the efficient running of the State."<ref>[http://www.ugandaembassy.com/Constitution_of_Uganda.pdf 1995 Constitution of Uganda] (see page 83 of 192)</ref><ref>[https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/21293 2005 amended Constitution of Uganda] (see page 100 of 231)</ref>

===Ministries of Uganda===

The below are the ministries in Uganda:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mtic.go.ug/index.php?/ministries-in-uganda/|title=Home - Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives|website=mtic.go.ug}}</ref>
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Uganda)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]
*[[Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (Uganda)|Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs]]
*[[Ministry of Public Service (Uganda)|Ministry of Public Service]]
*[[Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Uganda)|Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development]]
*[[Ministry of Education and Sports (Uganda)|Ministry of Education and Sports]]
*[[Ministry for Karamoja Affairs (Uganda)|Ministry for Karamoja Affairs]]
*[[Ministry of Local Government (Uganda)|Ministry of Local Government]]
*[[Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Uganda)|Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation]]
*[[Ministry of Health (Uganda)|Ministry of Health]]
*[[Ministry of Works and Transport (Uganda)|Ministry of Works and Transport]]
*[[Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (Uganda)|Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Development]]
*[[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Uganda)|Ministry of Internal Affairs]]
*[[Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (Uganda)|Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities]]
*[[Ministry of Water and Environment (Uganda)|Ministry of Water and Environment]]
*[[Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (Uganda)|Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development]]
*[[Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (Uganda)|Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development]]
*[[Ministry of Security (Uganda)|Ministry of Security]]
*[[Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs (Uganda)|Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs]]
*[[Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (Uganda)|Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries]]
*[[Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (Uganda)|Ministry of Information and Communications Technology]]
*[[Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees (Uganda)|Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees]]
*[[Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (Uganda)|Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives]]
{{Div col end}}

==Political parties and elections==

{{Main|List of political parties in Uganda|Elections in Uganda}}

===Presidential elections===

[[File:GovPic.png|thumb|350x350px|The structure of Uganda's government.]]

The most recent presidential elections in Uganda were held on 14 January 2021 featuring 11 aspirants comprising 10 men and 1 woman.

The announced but contested results are as follows;
{| class="wikitable"
!Candidates' Names 
!Votes 
!Percentage
|-
|Amuriat Oboi Patrick 
|337,589
|3.26%
|-
|Kabuleta Kiiza Joseph 
|45,424
|0.44%
|-
|Kalembe Nancy Linda 
|38,772
|0.37%
|-
|Katumba John
|37,554
|0.36%
|-
|[[Bobi Wine|Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu]]
|3,631,437
|35.08%
|-
|[[Norbert Mao|Mao Norbert]]
|57,682
|0.56%
|-
|Mayambala Willy 
|15,014
|0.15%
|-
|Mugisha Muntu Gregg 
|67,574
|0.65%
|-
|Mwesigye Fred 
|25,483
|0.25%
|-
|Tumukunde Henry Kakurugu 
|51,392
|0.50%
|-
|Yoweri Museveni
|6,042,898
|58.38%
|-
|Invalid Votes 
|393,500
|3.66%
|-
|Valid Votes 
|10,350,819
|
|}
Source: Uganda Electoral Commission<ref>{{Cite web|last=administrator|date=2021-01-27|title=2021 General Elections|url=https://www.ec.or.ug/2021-general-elections|access-date=2021-02-14|website=Electoral Commission|language=en}}</ref>

In this 2021 election, the pop star-turned-politician [[Bobi Wine]] (also known as Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu) was runner-up and challenged the election results in the country's highest court ([[Supreme Court of Uganda|Supreme Court]]), seeking to overturn Museveni's victory.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Supreme Court outlines timeline for handling Bobi petition|url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/supreme-court-outlines-timeline-for-handling-bobi-petition-3287412|access-date=2021-02-14|website=Daily Monitor|date=11 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The highly contested election was marred with violence; the European Parliament voiced outrage and condemnation, calling for sanctions against individuals and organisations responsible for human rights violations in Uganda.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-02|title=Human rights breaches in Uganda, Rwanda and Kazakhstan {{!}} News {{!}} European Parliament|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20210204IPR97122/human-rights-breaches-in-uganda-rwanda-and-kazakhstan|access-date=2021-02-14|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|language=en}}</ref>

The results of the most recent [[2021 Ugandan general election|presidential election]] from 2021 are as below:{{Election results|cand1=[[Yoweri Museveni]]|party1=[[National Resistance Movement]]|votes1=6042898|cand2=[[Bobi Wine]]|party2=[[National Unity Platform]]|votes2=3631437|cand3=[[Patrick Amuriat]]|party3=[[Forum for Democratic Change]]|votes3=337589|cand4=[[Mugisha Muntu]]|party4=[[Alliance for National Transformation]]|votes4=67574|cand5=[[Norbert Mao]]|party5=[[Democratic Party (Uganda)|Democratic Party]]|votes5=57682|cand6=[[Henry Tumukunde]]|party6=Independent|votes6=51392|cand7=[[Joseph Kabuleta]]|party7=Independent|votes7=45424|cand8=Nancy Kalembe|party8=Independent|votes8=38772|cand9=[[John Katumba]]|party9=Independent|votes9=37554|cand10=[[Fred Mwesigye]]|party10=Independent|votes10=25483|cand11=Willy Mayambala|party11=Independent|votes11=15014|invalid=393500|electorate=18103603|source=[https://www.ec.or.ug/news/publishing-final-results-presidential-elections-2021 ECU]}}

===Parliamentary elections===

The results of the most recent [[2021 Ugandan general election|parliamentary election]] from 2021 are as below:{{Election results|image=[[File:Ouganda Parlement 2021.svg]]|firstround=Constituency|secondround=Women|seattype1=Appointed|seattype2=Total|seattype3=+/–|party1=[[National Resistance Movement]]|votes1=4158934|seats1=218|votes1_2=4532814|seats1_2=101|st1t1=17|st2t1=336|st3t1=+42|party2=[[National Unity Platform]]|votes2=1347929|seats2=43|votes2_2=1607425|seats2_2=14|st1t2=0|st2t2=57|st3t2=New|party3=[[Forum for Democratic Change]]|votes3=729247|seats3=24|votes3_2=674154|seats3_2=8|st1t3=0|st2t3=32|st3t3=–4|party4=[[Democratic Party (Uganda)|Democratic Party]]|votes4=245248|seats4=8|votes4_2=181364|seats4_2=1|st1t4=0|st2t4=9|st3t4=–6|party5=[[Uganda People's Congress]]|votes5=180313|seats5=7|votes5_2=229884|seats5_2=2|st1t5=0|st2t5=9|st3t5=+3|party6=[[Alliance for National Transformation]]|votes6=72018|seats6=0|votes6_2=82318|seats6_2=0|st1t6=0|st2t6=0|st3t6=New|party7=[[Justice Forum]]|votes7=24843|seats7=1|votes7_2=22625|seats7_2=0|st1t7=0|st2t7=1|st3t7=+1|party8=[[People's Progressive Party (Uganda)|People's Progressive Party]]|votes8=10076|seats8=1|st1t8=0|st2t8=1|st3t8=+1|party9=Uganda Economic Party|votes9=6199|seats9=0|st1t9=0|st2t9=0|st3t9=New|party10=Ecological Party of Uganda|votes10=4287|seats10=0|st1t10=0|st2t10=0|st3t10=New|party11=[[Conservative Party (Uganda)|Conservative Party]]|votes11=1071|seats11=0|st1t11=0|st2t11=0|st3t11=0|party12=Social Democratic Party|votes12=719|seats12=0|st1t12=0|st2t12=0|st3t12=0|party13=Forum for Integrity in Leadership|votes13=122|seats13=0|st1t13=0|st2t13=0|st3t13=New|party14=Congress Service Volunteers Organisation|votes14=68|seats14=0|st1t14=0|st2t14=0|st3t14=New|party15=Independents|votes15=3217480|seats15=51|votes15_2=2785676|seats15_2=20|st1t15=3|st2t15=74|st3t15=+8|row16=[[Uganda People's Defence Force]]|st1t16=10|st2t16=10|st3t16=0|total_st3t=+103|source=[https://www.ec.or.ug/ecresults/2021/MPS_RESULTS_2021.pdf Electoral Commission]}}

==Judiciary==

The Ugandan judiciary operates as an independent branch of government and consists of magistrate's courts, high courts, courts of appeal (which organizes itself as the [[Constitutional Court of Uganda]] when hearing constitutional issues), and the Supreme Court. Judges for the High Court are appointed by the president; Judges for the Court of Appeal are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==Foreign relations==

{{Further|Foreign relations of Uganda}}

A fight between the [[Uganda]]n and [[Libya]]n presidential guards sparked chaos during a ceremony attended by the heads of state from 11 African nations on March 19, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/03/20/uganda.libya/index.html|title=Guards for African leaders battle; dozen injured |first=Samson |last=Ntale|website=CNN}}</ref>

==International organization participation==

{{Div col|colwidth=20em|content=* [[ACP (Lomé Convention)]]
* [[African Development Bank]]
* [[Commonwealth of Nations]]
* [[East African Development Bank]]
* [[Food and Agriculture Organization]]
* [[Group of 77]]
* [[Intelsat]]
* [[Intergovernmental Authority on Development]]
* [[International Atomic Energy Agency]]
* [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]]
* [[International Civil Aviation Organization]]
* [[International Confederation of Free Trade Unions]]
* [[International Criminal Court]]
* [[International Development Association]]
* [[International Finance Corporation]]
* [[International Fund for Agricultural Development]]
* [[International Labour Organization]]
* [[International Monetary Fund]]
* [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement]]
* [[International Olympic Committee]]
* [[International Organization for Migration]]
* [[International Organization for Standardization]] (correspondent)
* [[International Telecommunication Union]]
* [[Interpol (organization)|Interpol]]
* [[Islamic Development Bank]]
* [[Non-Aligned Movement]]
* [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]]
* [[Organisation of African Unity]]
* [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]]
* [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]]
* [[United Nations]]
* [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]]
* [[United Nations Economic Commission for Africa]]
* [[UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]]
* [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]]
* [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization]]
* [[Universal Postal Union]]
* [[World Customs Organization]]
* [[World Federation of Trade Unions]]
* [[World Health Organization]]
* [[World Intellectual Property Organization]]
* [[World Meteorological Organization]]
* [[World Tourism Organization]]
* [[World Trade Organization]]}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Uganda}}
* [[List of government ministries of Uganda]]
* [[Cabinet of Uganda]]
* [[Human rights in Uganda#Freedom of the press|Freedom of the press in Uganda]]
* [[Internet in Uganda#Internet censorship and surveillance|Internet censorship and surveillance in Uganda]]
* [[Parliament of Uganda]]
* [[Supreme Court of Uganda]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==

*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3493311.stm Uganda's opposition join forces] ([[BBC News]], 16 February 2004)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051020235819/http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs1217 "Uganda 'night commuters' flee rebel brutality"] ([[Yahoo!|Yahoo News]], October 17, 2005)
*[[Aili Mari Tripp|Tripp, Aili Mari]], ''Museveni’s Uganda: Paradoxes of Power in a Hybrid Regime'', Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010.

==External links==

*[http://www.parliament.go.ug/ Parliament of Uganda]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050529004100/http://www.statehouse.go.ug/index.php State House of Uganda]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050413192056/http://www.parliament.go.ug/constitute.htm Constitution of the Republic of Uganda]
*[http://www.janda.org/ICPP/ICPP2000/Countries/9-CentralEastAfrica/98-Uganda/98-Uganda63-00.htm Party Politics in Uganda, 1963-2000], Christina Nyströmee

{{Uganda topics}}
{{Africa topic|Politics of}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Of Uganda}}
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[[Category:Politics of Uganda| ]]