2026 elections: How many more must die or be injured before we act?

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By Jackline Turinayo Baganizi

Democracy, in its principles, envisages that periodically, the people will determine who and how they are governed. Every election season, however, we see the same tragic headlines: Scores injured or dead, pictures of young people lying in pools of blood splashed on newspaper pages and social media, families mourning loved ones, contestants bitterly complaining of being cheated by unconstitutional means, and communities torn apart.

From TV screens, radio broadcasts, and the pages of newspapers and social media, we are constantly reminded that our democratic processes have become battlegrounds. Could this be the price of democracy, or are we as a nation failing to manage this essential tool of a people determining who and how they are governed?

The just concluded National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries have naturally been no exception and with 2026 around the corner, the nation is wondering what to expect. The question we must ask ourselves is this: how many more people must die or suffer before we take serious action? Is it even possible to actually prevent or stop this unfortunate trend?

Election-related violence in Uganda has become an all-too-familiar pattern, spanning from the chaos in Kampala to the deadly clashes in areas like all rural areas. Election time is increasingly feared rather than celebrated. In the 2021 general elections, dozens were killed in the run-up to the polls, with security forces clashing with protestors and opposition supporters.

It seems candidates have determined that violence and voter intimidation sometimes work in their favour, since most of the population is averse to risking their lives just for the simple task of voting someone into office. So, to some actors, it seems better to make this investment of procuring violence-dispensing youth, many times even ferried from outside the electoral area, and these will descend on the population, causing chaos, instilling fear, destroying lives and property, all with the simple task of influencing the outcome of the vote.

Sadly, most of those who die or are maimed in these violent episodes are the youth—young people with dreams, potential, and their entire lives ahead of them. They are often manipulated, bribed with small sums of money or alcohol, and sent to the frontlines of political violence by those who claim to be leaders. But what kind of leadership sacrifices the very future of the nation it seeks to lead in pursuit of power?

Why is the government somehow seemingly unable to curb these recurrent negative practices?

It is disturbing how quickly we move on after elections, forgetting the pain and destruction left behind. The culture of silence and apathy has only allowed this cycle to repeat itself over the years. How many parents must bury their youngsters? What about the free will choice of leadership that democracy aspires to, that is hijacked by these gangsters?

Could it be possible that a nation which prides itself in having one of the best security apparatus on the continent, a fact few can deny, be unable to check this abuse of democracy, whose actions are mostly done in broad daylight? Progressively, one of the key budget items for any aspiring candidate is the procurement of ‘youth brigades’, whose tasks range from vote protection, countering opponent brigades (legitimate tasks of national security forces), but stretch to the negative tasks such as dispensing violence to the opponent and the community.

As a nation, we need to do some soul searching, initially deciding that this is not a direction we as a nation want to continue matching into un bothered. We should conduct proper studies to understand the root causes of electoral violence and invest in addressing the identified violence drivers. 

The Electoral Commission, civil society organisations, and even religious institutions must rise to the occasion. Civic education should not be seasonal—it must be continuous and deeply embedded in our communities. Youth need alternative avenues for political participation that do not involve violence. We need systems that punish political actors who sponsor violence, regardless of their party, deemed importance or social standing.

The fourth estate, the media, must play a stronger watchdog role while Civil society must continue amplifying its voice. The government must actively support voters to resist being used as weapons of destruction and pawns in theses dirty games.

But even more importantly, leaders and politicians must be held accountable—not celebrated—when they employ violence to determine outcomes of elections. And this is a cardinal task of the government, since it holds all the facets of governance. The Parliament should come up with the necessary legislation, the executive, through the security forces, enforce the law and order, whilst the Judiciary is there to hand down appropriate punishment to those in defiance.

Until this is done, and attempts to deter the belief that investment in violence can influence the fortunes of entry into the much-desired world of honorables with the anticipated financial and status rewards, the trend is only likely to grow, until we totally destroy our beloved nation.

Let us not wait until the next election cycle to begin the same conversations. We must act now—through reforms, education, and justice—so that future elections are marked not by violence, bloodshed, but by dignity and peace where the population freely chooses leaders it desires, which is the basic aspiration of a democratic society.

baganizijackie@gmail.com