Early Returns on Uganda’s 2011 Election

Early Returns on Uganda’s 2011 Election

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Ranging over hills that slope gracefully down into Lake Victoria, Kampala is arguably one of the more beautiful capitals in Africa. But the city's beauty not only belies the numbing poverty in which most of Uganda's residents find themselves, it also masks the country's ugly politics. Case in point: The outcome of Uganda's 2011 presidential election is a foregone conclusion, and no one -- whether Uganda's electoral commission, its legions of international donors, or the investors in its newly discovered oil fields -- is likely to do anything about it.

President Yoweri Museveni rose to power in 1986 as the head of the guerrilla National Resistance Army that overpowered the regime of Milton Obote. In the intervening years, he earned the favor and financial support of international donors for his commitment to IMF-imposed financial regimes that paid off in infrastructure dividends.

That fiscal discipline seemed to overshadow some of Museveni's more questionable tactical and security decisions, including Uganda's role in the mid-1990s civil war in Democratic Republic of Congo. Even his scorched-earth campaign against the northern rebel Lord's Resistance Army -- which led to the internment of the ethnic Acholi people in squalid camps as a way to "save" them from conscription in the LRA -- unfolded with relatively little scrutiny.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article as well as three free articles per month. You'll also receive our free email newsletter to stay up to date on all our coverage:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having your own personal researcher and analyst for news and events around the globe. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of 15,000+ articles
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday
  • Weekly in-depth reports on important issues and countries
  • Daily links to must-read news, analysis, and opinion from top sources around the globe, curated by our keen-eyed team of editors
  • Your choice of weekly region-specific newsletters, delivered to your inbox.
  • Smartphone- and tablet-friendly website.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review