Elections are emotional events, not just political ones

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OPINION

By Kulindi Tito

Citizens of Uganda are electing leaders at different leadership levels, with some leaders declared. Elections are often framed as political processes, but they are equally psychological events. They shape emotions, identities, relationships and collective expectations long before results are announced.

Campaigns are intensely emotional by design. Music, slogans, rallies and speeches appeal more to feeling than to reason. Candidates become symbols onto which people project personal struggles, dignity, justice, economic survival, and hope. As campaigns progress, optimism intensifies, group identity hardens, and scepticism weakens. Voting becomes an emotional investment, not merely a civic act.

This dynamic is not unique to Uganda. Globally, elections have demonstrated their psychological power. The 2016 election of Donald Trump in the US shocked many voters worldwide, triggering disbelief, anger, grief and celebration almost simultaneously. That moment revealed a universal truth: when political expectations collapse suddenly, emotional consequences follow immediately.

When a preferred candidate loses, people commonly experience shock, anger, humiliation and grief. This grief is often unacknowledged and quickly dismissed, despite months or years of emotional build-up. Repeated political disappointment can compound these emotions, leading to resignation and despair.

Victory also carries psychological weight. While winning brings relief and validation, it can also produce anxiety, hyper-vigilance and fear of loss. Celebratory triumphalism may further deepen social division.

Elections also strain relationships at the most intimate levels. Families experience conflict when members hold opposing political views, and in some cases when spouses compete for elective positions. Political disagreement becomes personal, leading to silence, resentment or breakdown in communication.

Misinformation and rumours intensify psychological distress. Delayed results, conflicting announcements and restricted information flow increase anxiety and mistrust. Uncertainty activates fear responses and can re-trigger unresolved trauma, particularly in societies with histories of political violence or instability.

Over time, repeated cycles of emotional investment without perceived change result in political fatigue, cynicism and withdrawal. Many people disengage not because they do not care, but because caring has become emotionally costly.

One of the most important conversations missing from public discourse is the normalisation of post-election grief. Disappointment, anger and sadness are valid psychological responses. Healthy democratic cultures allow space for emotional processing, respectful disagreement and leaders who model restraint in victory and dignity in loss.

Elections do more than determine leadership. They reveal how deeply people tie identity, safety and meaning to political outcomes beyond their control. Recognising the psychological dimensions of elections is not a threat to democracy; it is essential to sustaining it.

The writer is a clinical psychologist.