A section of election observers in Uganda has asked the government to speed up the process of coming up with a law regulating the commercialization of politics as the 2025/ 2026 general elections draw closer.
The executive director of Alliance for Finance Monitoring (ACFIM), Mr Henry Muguzi told journalists on Tuesday that because of too much money flows in the countries presidential and parliamentary elections, there is too many deep-pocketed interests which are influencing the outcome of the election.
“Commercialization of politics has created a situation where people are elected in office but they are captured by those who bankrolled them. They cannot serve the interests of the electorate. Instead, they serve their benefactors,” he said.
According to him, some contestants either sell their assets or take big loans to fund their campaigns which in turn kills the purpose of elections because the only outcome they would accept is a win.
“This win sometimes precipitates electoral violence but even when the win comes, it is very difficult for those who have spent through the nose to care about serving the interest of the voters. The entire tenure of office will be on recovering what they have spent during campaigns, “he said.
Mr Musau Mulle from the African Election Observers Network ( AFEONet) said that the “disease cannot be handled by only one party” but they need to come together as regional election observers to find a solution to this cancerous disease which has affected the whole world not only Africa.
“We need to bring all the electoral bodies together with practitioners and experts we have on the continent as far as elections are concerned for the purpose of bringing back election integrity,” he said.
Democratic Party (DP) Secretary General, Mr Gerald Siranda said election observers should not look at commercialization of politics only, but come up with a law that can streamline and protect election integrity.
“We need a very tough law that can cater for such issues, including political financing because it’s also a threat, especially to those who have just joined politics,” he said.
According to him, many voters stopped caring about ideas and now focus on the wealth of the contestants to make their choices.
Uganda’s electoral commission thinks commercialization of politics undermines democracy.
“It makes elections appear like putting democracy on auction to the highest bidder,” the EC spokesperson, Mr Julius Muchunguzi said.
According to him, the absence of campaign finance law creates a vacuum with which wrong people use the money to undermine the free choice of voters.
“Having a law that regulates money in elections would be music in electoral processes. The EC is pleased to hear that there is growing momentum, voices, and calls for a law to that effect,” he said.
In July this year, government proposed legislation to cap campaign financing and criminalise the offense and as such the proposal was endorsed by Cabinet to put the brakes on commercialisation of politics in the country.
According to Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi, the ministers reached the decisions during their retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi District in 2021.
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