Does being a celebrity help win elections?

By Umaru Kashaka
      
When music stars and comedians easily registered victories in the just concluded NRM primary elections despite being political novices, they set tongues wagging in their areas.

They included contemporary dancehall artiste Ragga Dee alias Daniel Kazibwe, gospel musician and senior pastor Judith Babirye and Radio West comedian Robert Mugabe alias Kakyebezi.

Ragga Dee trounced former minister for Housing and NRM vice-chairperson for Kampala region, Captain Francis Babu in the Kampala Lord Mayoral race; Babirye defeated Dorothy Mpiima in the Buikwe Woman parliamentary elections and Kakyebezi trounced Wilson Tumwine in the race for Mbarara mayoral seat.

They will now face off with candidates from other political parties in the national elections. But as they start laying strategies for capturing the seats, many people are asking themselves whether indeed being a celebrity will help them win elections.

Ragga Dee is likely to run against incumbent Erias Lukwago and Kyadondo South MP Issa Kikngwe who recently declared his interest in the seat, while Babirye might face off with Democratic Party's Christine Mugerwa, a loser of 2011 Buikwe district Woman MP elections.

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Musician Ragga Dee is the NRM flagbearer for Kampala mayor

Kakyebezi is yet to publicly know his competitors. The head of political science and public administration department at Makerere University, Dr Suzie Muwanga, told New Vision that being a celebrity might come with some advantages, but cannot be a ticket to success.

"It is not the only reason why people are voted. People look at the message you are putting across and always want change. Babu has been in government for about 30 years and people voted Ragga Dee perhaps because they wanted a different person," she said.

Connie Galiwango, the Mbale district Woman MP who recently defeated former East African Legislative Assembly legislator Lydia Wanyoto to carry the NRM flag in 2016, said it depends on what voters want.

"Sometimes it's difficult to know what voters want, but if they have seen a potential in you, they will vote you," she said.

Galiwango, who said she used to sing during her days as a girl, stressed that the way they look at ourselves as politicians is not the way voters look at them.

"Maybe voters want someone who is simple, who can be with them and who can understand their problems," she added.

Giving examples of international and local pop stars that have succeeded in winning elections in their countries, Joseph Bate, a music critique and veteran journalist, believes fame presents the singers with good chances of winning polls.

"It can, very much help them win elections. People want role models and they become emotional attached to them because of what they have done. People will vote you because they expect you (musician) to succeed in politics like you managed to do in music," Bate said.

Analysts argue that since name recognition counts for a lot in politics, famous people running for office can do well if they have credibility and a good understanding of the political process.

They, however, say even though these people are already pop stars, they can't simply rest on your laurels.

"If you are not serious, it (your celebrity status) can make you lose an election," Bate said.
Godfrey Nyakana, the Kampala Central division mayor is a former professional boxer. After making it to the international scene through professional boxing, he joined politics in 2006 and won elections for the position he is currently holding.

In the United States, reports say there have been several politicians who began life in the music industry, most notably Sonny Bono who remains the only American congressman to have had a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, the singles chart.

There is also a strong tradition of actors finding political success, such as Clint Eastwood, who was Mayor of Carmel in California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was governor of the same state, and Ronald Reagan, who spent two terms at the White House after 30 years in Hollywood.

Minnesota Senator in the US Al Franken first found fame as a comedian on Saturday Night Live.

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