By eriasa mukiibi sserunjogi Budadiri was not the only place where bigwigs in the government, like Wabudeya, fought to avoid defeat “In President Museveni’s home district of Kiruhura, where he garnered 94 percent of the valid votes, the District Returning Officer, Apollo Musinguzi, was forced to cancel results from four …
Read More »The Arab world’s impending triple crisis
By Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed As early as 2015, the average Arab will be forced to survive on less than 500 cubic meters of water per year, a level defined as severe scarcity Economic want and inequality, as much as political repression, incited the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions. It is, of …
Read More »Election Day should not be a war zone
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Edward Scicluna, a member of European parliament and former electoral commissioner in Malta was the Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) of Uganda’s Feb.18 elections. He spoke to The Independent’s Mubatsi Asinja Habati about the EU EOM’s preliminary statement in which …
Read More »Why Museveni won and Besigye lost and what can be done for the future
By Andrew M. Mwenda “Where Besigye projected himself as a national statesman, Museveni positioned himself as a local politician. Where Besigye articulated a grand, national vision, Museveni focused on mundane local issues. Besigye came across as idealistic with a high sense of morality; Museveni was realistic, pragmatic and practical if …
Read More »How Museveni gained 10% and Besigye lost it
By Joseph Were “Unfortunately for Besigye, his team missed even the well known view that polls, even bogus ones, create the so-called “herd” mentality of voters swing to the side of the one reported to be winning.” “A voter told The independent: “Besigye forgot that he has to get the …
Read More »Wake up call
By melina plates By 2016 Ugandan will be 40 million, 25% of the youth. Museveni’s win in 2011 shows why the opposition should pay attention to such demographic changes among voters. “The youth of Uganda today are more educated and more socially interconnected than any generation before them. Over 40% …
Read More »How the IPC alliance undermined Besigye’s appeal
By eriasa mukiibi sserunjogi The failure of Kizza Besigye’s third shot at the presidency has been described by an unlikely source as having been partly occasioned by what was hitherto viewed as his most potent weapon, the Interparty Cooperation. In a surprising twist, a donor source who was instrumental in …
Read More »Post-election economic woes
By rukiya makuma & joan akello IMF, donors withhold support for Uganda Rachel Kimono could not hide her excitement on the eve of the Feb. 18 general election. She was waiting for money promised by mobilisers for the ruling NRM party in her Nakaloke village in Mbale district to potential …
Read More »NRM must recognise Buganda’s value
By Paulo Wangoola After subduing the rest of Uganda’s historical power centres, Museveni now is frontally taking on Buganda There is no doubt the coming to power by Yoweri Museveni and NRM in 1986, and remaining popular for 15 years, was directly linked to the unequivocal political support of Buganda …
Read More »Dealing with errant MPs
By Bob A Kasango I agree the MPs should leave parliament and refund the monies, but I hold serious reservations on nullifying their nominations The Constitutional Court decision in George Owor -vs. – Attorney General and Hon William Okecho delivered on the 1st of February 2011 has gained a fair …
Read More »