There is need to resuscitate party pluralism in Uganda

In the last couple of weeks, the media has been awash with news of the crossing to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party of a district chairperson and Members of Parliament who are poised to sign an MoU with the ruling party. 

The phenomenon of crossing to the ruling party has seriously undermined party pluralism in Uganda. Let’s put this into perspective. The existence of strong political parties is the cornerstone of representative democracy. 

Political parties play a vital role in deepening the culture of democratic governance. They are the heartbeat of democracy. In contemporary politics, one cannot talk of a mature democracy without the existence of vibrant political parties. 

In a multiparty dispensation, people with similar political interests form a political party, recruit members to join the party and organise to compete in local and national elections. Through their organs, the political parties formulate a manifesto and identify suitable candidates to articulate their visions in elections. 

There are, however, prerequisites for the proper functioning of the multiparty political system, namely; equal application of rules and sanctions, a levelled ground for fair electoral contest, a civically competent society, equitable funding, tolerance of different viewpoints, appreciation of diversity and a keen observance of the will of the people. Sadly, multiparty politics has failed miserably in Uganda, thanks to the machinations of the state party that is NRM - whose organs are fused with those of the State. 

It takes advantage of State institutions to frustrate any credible Opposition to its stranglehold on state power. That is why, during elections, the armed forces use intimidation and violence to scare voters and candidates away from the elections. They also use State funds to buy electoral support. As a result, the commercialisation of elections and politics has reached unprecedented levels in Uganda.

 As a matter of fact, elections in Uganda have become a capital intensive investment. Consequently, the will of the people has ceased to matter. It is this deliberate failing of party pluralism that accounts for the defection of Opposition leaders to the NRM. The commercialised political landscape does not allow for political actors in the Opposition to blossom. Whereas in a functional multiparty system, political parties compete with each other by articulating competing visions for the transformation of society, in Uganda, it is the candidate with the most money who takes the day! This is a travesty of representation as a fundamental tenet of democracy. 

In the end, people without a vision, buy their way into leadership and use their positions to amass wealth and live ostentatiously at the expense of the taxpayers. They act that way because serving the people as a core function of leadership, is an alien concept to them. And that is the tragedy of our nation. Most people venture into leadership for self-aggrandisement. Suffice it to say, that the malaise afflicting party pluralism in Uganda is deep and pervasive. 

It is this malaise that is responsible for the defection of Opposition leaders to the state party – NRM. Being in Opposition politics and staying the course is not for the faint-hearted. It requires resilience and a strong sense of mission. So those who are looking for jobs or material benefits in politics will definitely cross to the NRM where those can be found.

 In conclusion, therefore, party pluralism and politics generally have failed in Uganda. We can’t pretend about it anymore. We need to go back to the drawing board and address the bottlenecks facing the system and device mechanisms to resuscitate it.

The writer is a politician, trainer and
writer.
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