The fallacy of 'scientific elections' in the COVID-era: exploring the challenges of managing the 2020-2021 elections in Uganda

• Authors: Norman Sempijja , Paula Mora Brito

Title variants

PL

Błąd "wyborów naukowych" w erze COVID. Odkrywanie wyzwań związanych z zarządzaniem wyborami 2020-2021 w Ugandzie

Abstracts

PL

Pandemia COVID-19 rozpoczęła się w okresie, gdy w Ugandzie miały się odbyć wybory prezydenckie i parlamentarne, co stanowiło wyzwanie dla bezpieczeństwa ludności. Partia rządząca (Narodowy Ruch Oporu) stanęła wobec sytuacji przekazania władzy przewodniczącemu parlamentu, gdyby wybory miały się nie odbyć. Aby złagodzić problemy związane ze zdrowiem publicznym i utrzymać władzę, rząd zgodził się na proces wyborczy bez kampanii publicznych. Zamiast tego miały zostać przeprowadzone kampanie w radiu, telewizji i mediach społecznościowych, w tak zwanych "wyborach naukowych". Jednak w kraju ogarniętym masową korupcją polityczną i biurokratyczną oraz z zakorzenionym reżimem, który stosuje przemoc wobec przeciwników, niewiele uwagi poświęcono sprawiedliwości tego procesu, zwłaszcza w kwestii dostępu opozycji do zasobów medialnych. I odwrotnie, ponieważ w wyborach chodzi o tłumy i popisy, Ugandyjska Komisja Wyborcza zmagała się z ciągle ewoluującym procesem kampanii wyborczej, zwłaszcza że na szlaku kampanii kandydatów politycznych pojawiły się spore spontaniczne tłumy. Opozycja potrzebuje dużego tłumu dla legitymizacji i pokazania popularności. Partia rządząca użyła przemocy wobec członków opozycji pod pretekstem egzekwowania standardowych procedur operacyjnych w celu zapobiegania COVID-19, ale jej kandydaci mogli gromadzić tłumy. Doprowadziło to do radykalizacji części opozycji, która wykorzystywała media do wzywania do przemocy i czystek etnicznych. Opisane w artykule badanie jakościowe sprawdza, w jakim stopniu proces "wyborów naukowych" został zaprojektowany w celu uzyskania sprawiedliwego wyniku wyborów w 2021 r. w Ugandzie. Badanie wykorzystuje teorię racjonalnego wyboru do zbadania kalkulacji różnych interesariuszy. Opiera się na danych wtórnych, zwłaszcza doniesieniach medialnych, ale także na danych pierwotnych z raportów, mediów społecznościowych i przemówień kluczowych postaci ze sceny politycznej Ugandy. Z badania wynika, że niezależna komisja wyborcza miała do czynienia z dwoma wysoce wyrafinowanymi przeciwnikami i nie miała możliwości ani sprawczości do egzekwowania reguł w grze politycznej. Ostatecznie okazało się, że kluczowe aspekty procesu "wyborów naukowych" były niesprawcze i nie przyniosły sprawiedliwego wyniku wyborów w 2021 r. w Ugandzie.

EN

COVID-19 broke out in the period that Uganda was due to have presidential and parliamentary elections, posing a very precarious human security challenge. The ruling party (National Resistance Movement; NRM) faced the challenge of passing power to the Speaker of parliament if elections were not to be held. To mitigate the public health challenges and maintain power, the government acquiesced to an election process without public campaigns. Instead, campaigns were to be held over the radio, TV, and social media in what came to be known as 'scientific elections.' However, in a country hamstrung by massive political and bureaucratic corruption and an entrenched regime that uses violence against opponents, little attention was paid to the fairness of the process, especially in terms of access to media resources by the opposition. Conversely, as elections are about crowds and showmanship, the Ugandan Electoral Commission struggled with the ever-evolving electoral campaign process, especially as large spontaneous crowds sprang up on the campaign trail of the political candidates. The opposition needs a large crowd for legitimacy and a show of popularity. To mitigate this, the ruling party used violence against opposition members as an excuse to enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the prevention of COVID-19, yet its candidates were left to gather crowds. This radicalized some of the opposition that used media outlets to call for violence and ethnic cleansing. This qualitative study delves into the extent to which the 'scientific elections' process was designed to produce a fair outcome of the 2021 elections in Uganda. This study uses the rational choice theory to explore the calculations of different stakeholders. The study relies on secondary data, especially available in media outlets, but also primary data through reports and social media and speeches of key figures in the political landscape in Uganda. The study finds that the Independent Electoral Commission was caught between two highly sophisticated opponents and did not have the capacity and agency to enforce the rules in the political game. In the end, the key facets of the 'scientific elections' process were found wanting and did not produce a fair outcome of the 2021 elections in Uganda.

Keywords

EN

scientific elections; Uganda; National Resistance Movement; COVID-19; Uganda Electoral Commission; election management

PL

wybory naukowe; Uganda; Narodowy Ruch Oporu; COVID-19; komisja wyborcza Ugandy; zarządzanie wyborami

• Publisher: Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia z Polityki Publicznej
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1(33)
• Pages: 13-32

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Norman Sempijja

• Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, Ben Guerir, Maroko

• https://orcid.org/0000000213865666

author

Paula Mora Brito

• Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, Ben Guerir, Maroko

• https://orcid.org/0000000343430759

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Identifiers

DOI

10.33119/KSzPP/2022.1.1

Biblioteka Nauki

2054016