1980 polls: Uganda’s turning point

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This Sunday, December 10, marks 43 years since the controversial 1980 elections, which set off actions that have shaped present Uganda. The polls were the first to be held in Uganda since 1962 when the country gained independence.

Earlier elections had taken place in 1961 and April 1962 before independence. In other words, Ugandans had waited for 18 years to exercise their right to choose their leaders, making 1980 a critical election.

After independence, the first elections should have taken place in 1967, but instead, the Government, under the leadership of Apolo Milton Obote and the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), extended its electoral mandate and also made significant constitutional changes.

Chances of holding an election became dim when the army toppled Obote in 1971 and installed a military rule with Idi Amin Dada as President. It is important to note that under his rule, there was no parliament, courts of law operated under fear and the people were silenced. No one dared talk ill or criticise the government or the President.

The 1980 election results were contested, triggering a war which resulted in the fall of two governments in July 1985 and January 1986. This creates two eras in the country’s history with the 1980 polls as a turning point.

One era is 1962-1985 and the other is 1986 to the present day, which are distinct. The earlier one is retrogressive and the latter progressive. However, some critics may disagree, so, it turns out to be an issue of which political lens one bears to make the judgment. Even then, these two eras aptly tell Uganda’s political history and its consequences.

There were four political parties in the race for power in the 1980 elections: Democratic Party (DP), headed by Paul Kawanga Semwogerere; UPC, led by Apollo Milton Obote and Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM), under the leadership of Yoweri Museveni who is the President of Uganda today. The Conservative Party, with Joash Mayanja Nkangi, was the fourth party that contested.

According to the Constitution, the president was elected by the party that won majority seats. This is what is called a parliamentary system, unlike today where the president is voted by universal adult suffrage. A directly elected President is accountable to the people and is more unifying than an indirectly elected.

Casting the vote, in 1980, was done in booths or enclosures where an individual was alone ticking the ballot to ensure secrecy. There were also multiple ballot boxes, each party had its own. This made it easy for ballot stuffing and switching symbols on the boxes to change results.

Today it is different. Casting the vote is open, there is one ballot box and ticking a candidate on it is done in a basin to conceal one’s choice. Better still, vote counting is done at the polling station immediately after the close of voting, which was not the case in 1980.

According to official results, the 1980 voter turnout was over 82%, probably the only accurate statistic, indicating the enthusiasm to elect leaders after years of disenfranchisement. Voting started on December 10 and continued to the next day.

Not only were the elections coming after the 1979 fall of Amin, but also a turbulent period after him in which two governments – that of Prof. Yusufu Lule and Godfrey Binaisa — were toppled within a year. This was part of the post-Amin political divide on whether to have multiparty or no-party politics.

The latter was pushed by adherents to the new thinking of running the country under the umbrella Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), which de-emphasised political parties. It was a movement system of sorts, which was later introduced in the post-1986 era.

The immediate post-Amin spell cast a bad image and seemed independent Uganda would never vote. From 1962 to 1980 governments were changed without a popular ballot. It was either by the gun or political groups dislodging one another. Comparing this to recent times accentuates the past poor electoral record.

Today, six elections have been held since 1996 under the 1995 Constitution. These are 1996, 2001, 2006 2011, 2016 and 2023, plotting a pattern showing people exercising their right to choose who governs them every five years.

Already, the 2026 polls roadmap is out and political parties are beginning to prepare. Though these elections in the post-1986 era may have not resulted in the change of the President, the fact remains the power to replace him belongs to the people.

This is the new dispensation, sinking in Uganda, dictating that the President can only be replaced through the ballot. It means he enters the race, campaigns and wins or loses.

The post-1995 polls have, however, produced new faces in Parliament and local government, showing that the ballot is working. And with regular elections, there is also remarked improvement in the quality and management of the polls.

Although, the 1980 elections were fraught with rigging allegations, they disprove claims that Uganda has never had a peaceful transition of power. After the UPC had been declared winner, the Military Commission, which was the junta headed by Paulo Mwanga, the de facto head of state, handed over power to Obote at a ceremony held at Parliament on December 15th, 1980.

In his speech, Muwanga said it was a historical day for Ugandans to have an elected leader. On December 23, Parliament was sworn in with the UPC as the ruling party and DP the opposition.

The fact is DP, which is said to have won the election, accepted to occupy its seat in Parliament, consequently legitimatizing the UPC government. But yet still grumbling that their victory had been stolen.

Museveni, Lule and other opted to launch a war against the newly sown in government.

X: @dmukholi1