Survey: 87% back dialogue on 2016 elections

President Museveni shakes hands with former FDC presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye at Namugongo during the Pope’s visit to Uganda in 2015. It was the first time the duo had met for many years. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Majority of the panellists discussing the report said the survey was only confirming what Ugandans have already publicly said.
  • The poll was conducted across the country with adult citizens randomly selected.

Kampala. Ugandans overwhelmingly back dialogue between the Opposition and government over the 2016 election results, according to findings of a new opinion poll released yesterday.
The Round 7 poll conducted by research firm, Afrobarometer between December 26, 2016 and January 8, 2017, found that eight out of 10 (84 per cent) Ugandans back the said dialogue.
With a margin of error of +/-3 per cent and a confidence level of 95 per cent, it statistically means 81 per cent or 87 per cent of Ugandans back the proposal.

The Afrobarometer team in Uganda, led by Hatchile Consult conducted the survey, interviewing 1,200 adult Ugandans.
Actors from both the Opposition and government are reported to be laying ground work for the said talks. The Swedish government already confirmed to have been approached and accepted to mediate the said dialogue.
On Thursday, Opposition leader Kizza Besigye said the ongoing discussions were limited to establishing a mechanism for an election audit to determine what happened in 2016 exercise.

Presidential term limits
Only 24 per cent back the removal of the presidential age limit from the Constitution, an issue that is likely to polarise debate in the country in the near future as President Museveni – who has been in power for more than 31 years – approaches 75 years of age. In fact, 74 per cent of the people polled back the reinstatement of term limits, which were removed in 2005 for a president, to serve a maximum two terms in office.

Almost all adult Ugandans (96 per cent) support a call to improve electoral transparency, especially during vote tallying, transmission, and declaration.
Majority of the panellists discussing the report said the survey was only confirming what Ugandans have already publicly said.
However, Afrobarometer’s national investigator, Dr Fredrick Golooba-Mutebi, says the study brings new points of reflection to the discussion about Uganda’s future.
He cited the fact that the lowest support for reform was from the north and east, which in the past have tended to be traditional strongholds of the Opposition.

He urged Ugandans to reflect on the reforms they are calling for.
“If we agree that our elections are of such low quality, why do we have them?” he asked.
Policy analyst and lawyer Godber Tumushabe says the surveys on reforms, including this one by Afrobarometer, have failed to ask the fundamental question.
“The fundamental question to ask is who is against reform?”
He listed the impediments to reform, including President Museveni and family Inc, an alliance of the military, the business and political elite, groups in the country that pass off as political parties, patronage networks in the academia and religious institutions and international networks such as bilateral donors, who he said are comfortable with the status quo.

The poll

The poll was conducted across the country with adult citizens randomly selected. It was distributed across five regions (Kampala, Central, West, North, and East) and urban/rural areas in proportion to their share in the national population. Every adult citizen had an equal chance of being selected. Face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice were conducted.”