From now on, consider whatever was left of Ugandan democracy gone, comments Niels Jacob Harbitz, HRH?s Project Manager for East Africa. -We have seen this coming for a long time, but the news that has broken over the last few days that Museveni loyalists have now found a way around the final obstacle towards removing term limits marks the point of no return for the de-democratization of Uganda. (24-MAY-05)

-Given the fact that Museveni?s own party, the National Resistance Movement, enjoys majority in Parliament, the final vote on this issue is a foregone conclusion. This also means that the forthcoming elections, scheduled for March next year, will also be a formality. Without any kind of equality of working conditions, for instance in terms of freedom of expression and assembly for the opposition, the Movement will most probably win those elections even without having to rig them. Ever since Museveni came to power now nineteen years ago, Ugandan opposition has been restricted to a limited number of individual voices. No real nurturing and coordination of alternative modes of thinking have been allowed, adds Harbitz. 

The betrayal of Uganda
-Even the usually Museveni-loyal newspaper the New Vision reports that 80 % of all Ugandans are against the lifting of term limits (article republished on this website). The fact that the majority of Ugandans are against the proposed amendment to the constitution makes the whole idea of lifting the term limits even less democratic. The message is clear: The people don?t want it. Having a referendum on whether or not to allow multi-partyism instead is just a side-tracking of the whole issue. It looks suspiciously like an attempt to mislead the people of Uganda and the international society alike into believing that Uganda is still a democracy. However, in the entire history of Uganda, there has never been a political space for a real opposition to consolidate itself. The forthcoming elections will not change any of this. In fact, it will only serve to cement this condition even further. Uganda should have been a multi-party state already. What is happening now, what we are witnessing, is the ultimate betrayal of Uganda, says Harbitz.

-The future looks ever grimmer
HRH joins the unanymous voice of both national and international human rights NGOs in expressing its deep concern for what might happen both before and after next year?s elections. The lifting of term limits for Museveni to stand for a third term most probably means that he will also stand for a fourth, a fifth and – in effect – for life. Given his age – he was born in 1944 – he can go on to rule Uganda for another twenty years or more. In this situation, HRH is not alone in looking to Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe?s and his ZANU PF?s rapidly decreasing democratic credentials over the last few years. The recent praise expressed by President Museveni for Mugabe?s achievements makes such a comparison all the more relevant. For Uganda, the future looks ever grimmer, especially from a human rights point of view, continues Harbitz.

-Keep an eye on the bigger picture: Ugandan democracy is about to go
-To those still in doubt within the donor / diplomacy community as to whether or not to withhold parts or all of their donor money, the answer should now have been given, by Museveni and his men themselves. In my opinion, sufficiently large amounts of donor money to affect the Ugandan state economy, deeply dependent as it is on foreign donations, should not only be withheld, but transferred, if only in part, to the genuinely democratic forces in the country, for instance throughout the human rights sector. This would add to the signal effect of withholding funds, and add new impetus to what looks like a lost battle at the moment, namely to keep Ugandan democracy alive. The international community cannot just stand on the side and watch this happen, not even for selfish reasons. We will have to live with the shame. I know there is an international effort going on to broker a peace treaty in the north, but one shouldn?t lose sight of the bigger picture in the process. This, I fear, is what is about to happen, concludes Harbitz.