Defiance was bound to lose to steady progress

By Don Wanyama

The dust is finally settling. The results of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections are out. As many of us had expected, Ugandans listened to reason over emotion, they chose realism over idealism but importantly they have endorsed the message that this country is steadily progressing and the political status quo need not be tampered with.

At the heart of this campaign were two contrasting messages; the NRM and President Museveni who argued that the foundation for development has been set and what is left is to create wealth (with Uganda becoming a middle-income country by 2021) while on the other hand was the FDC and Dr Kizza Besigye whose mantra was "winning by defiance, not compliance".

Anyone who attended President Museveni's inaugural rally in Zirobwe, Luweero District in early November 2015 and attended his last rally in Mukono North on February 16, 2016 would not fail to notice the consistence of his message.

At all his 306 campaign rallies, President Museveni offered a quick synopsis of the ideological foundation of the NRM (anti-sectarianism, unity, strength, peace and development), explained the wealth creation plans for the next five years (NAADS, Youth Fund, Women Fund, microfinance scheme and innovation fund) and in specific areas mentioned key infrastructural/service delivery achievements or plans underway.

Basically, President Museveni has been emphasising the fact that the country has made leaps in terms of security and stability. He pointed out that much has been achieved on the development front (social services, roads, electricity) but was candid enough to note that this does not necessarily mean people have become wealthier. At many rallies, he pointed out how people live next to a tarmac road but are still poor or have electricity lines near their homes but cannot tap it because they cannot afford.

It is for this reason that this new term will see emphasis placed on "wananchi" funds that should offer cheap credit to push the wealth-creation drive. For example, cognisant that over 70% of the population is still engaged in agriculture, the President has proposed to increase funding to the National Agriculture Advisory Services (or the Agriculture Fund) from the current sh200b to at least sh1,000b. The larger chunk of this money will go into offering quality inputs to farmers, which has been one of the key obstacles to successful commercial agriculture. The President has also used the trail to discourage land fragmentation, urging families instead to share proceeds from harvest not the land.

There is no doubt that President Museveni simply re-confirmed his leadership credentials on this trail; explaining the ideology of his party, showcasing the achievements gained so far under the NRM, admitting the challenges that exist and prescribing appropriate remedies for them.

Let us contrast that with Dr Besigye and the FDC. First was the public declaration by Besigye that he would never take part in an election organised by the Badru-Kiggundu led Electoral Commission. This he said not once, not twice but several times. Somehow, he made a U-turn, won the FDC flag-bearership and immediately began a "defiance" campaign.

A careful study of Besigye's campaign rhetoric will show that never did he focus on policy issues. At his rallies, he simply berated the President, shouted hoarse how Museveni has outlived his usefulness and went on to preach his defiance. The few times he touched on policy, like his ludicrous claim of paying teachers sh1,000,000 a month, it came off as shallow and not backed with facts.

Besigye was riding on emotion which was compounded by his unreasonable forays into urban centres where he inadvertently created excitement mistaking it for support. When the FDC was choosing its presidential flagbearer, Gen Mugisha Muntu, who faced-off with Besigye in a TV debate and later at Namboole Stadium, insisted that the latter lacked the credibility but also the follow-through plan to actually win an election. He could not have been further from the truth. As it has turned out, FDC did not even have polling agents at all the 28,010 polling stations across the country.

Sure that he lacked the numbers to win, Besigye embarked on a journey of discrediting the electoral process and sowing seeds of mayhem. That is the whole point of defiance. It is the defiance he exhibited a day after a poor showing at the presidential debate by clashing with the Police and causing a lock-down in Wandegeya. It is the defiance he showed on voting day by trying to forcefully enter a security facility in Naguru on voting day, claiming vote rigging was happening there. In all these, the Police have handled Dr Besigye with great civility considering his status but also resolutely to deny him the chance of taking down the country.

With this clash of messages and style, it should perhaps not surprise anyone that President Museveni and the NRM won convincingly. Museveni showcased government successes, offered hope and solutions to unemployed youth, admitted weaknesses in areas like the fight against corruption and painted a clear picture of Uganda in the next five years as a middle-income country. Besigye on the other hand simply berated the President, whipped up emotion without offering tangible solutions and the few times he tried to discuss policy like his ludicrous proposal to pay teachers, soldiers and others sh1m, it had no empirical back-up, instead promising people to "walk with swagger".

With these two contrasting political messages, it is not surprising that Ugandans opted for the tried, tested and trusted option. Uganda has made great strides under President Museveni and most Ugandans appreciate this. There is no doubt that new challenges keep emerging and the NRM must quickly find solutions. What Ugandans have rejected is the lie that things can get better by simply "defying".

The writer is a Special Media Assistant in the office of the NRM National Chairperson