Why we must build strong institutions

The drawn out fight for who will be the next president of the United States has caught the attention of the world, and in it is a key lesson for anyone who ever doubted the importance of building strong institutions. 
President Donald Trump has to all intents and purposes lost his re-election bid, with former vice president Joe Biden poised to win what initially appeared to be a close election with a landslide as the remaining battleground states put final touches to ballot tallying.

President Trump was not expected to go down without a fight, and he classically claimed that he had won at a time when a big chunk of the votes, especially the mail-in ballots majority of which Mr Biden was expected to win, had not yet been counted. Mr Trump tweeted with ferocity, calling for a halt on vote counting as he alleged that the ballot had been stolen. 

He was asked for evidence when he claimed rigging, and never offered any. His authority appeared to slide immeasurably as his claims rang hollow, despite the fact that he was tweeting and addressing the press from the White House, the residence of who on paper is the most powerful political leader in the world. 

Once the people of America seemed to shift their allegiance from Mr Trump, his words mattered less and less, and he clearly had no power to direct any institution to do his bidding. He, of course, cited his right to petition the courts, and an early recourse to a court in Georgia was rebuffed. There was still a smattering of court cases here and there, and Mr Trump threatened that he could petition the country’s Supreme Court as a last resort. He would be within his rights.

But the critical thing to admire about America’s system is how Mr Trump, despite being president, is completely powerless in as far as directing the electoral bodies, security agencies and any other bodies on which many leaders around the world would turn at a moment like this.
Even before the crunch time of imminent electoral defeat arrived for Mr Trump, a number of American institutions over the years ignored some of his directives and declarations which they deemed illegal, including suggestions for blocking some groups of people from entering the United States. 

As the US election winds down, therefore, it is important that we look beyond the noise that emanates from the dust Mr Trump has raised to the issue of building strong institutions. Uganda must aspire to this ideal.