Parliament name |
Parliament |
Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
BACKGROUND |
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 23 February 2006 28 August 2006 |
Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all directly elected seats. |
On 23 February 2006
multi-party parliamentary elections were held in parallel with presidential elections. Political party activities had been banned in 1986 following the introduction of a "no-party" system
known as the Movement
by President Yoweri Museveni. The multi-party system was re-introduced by a referendum in July 2005
which also lifted the two-term limit for the post of president.
At the 2006 elections
the principal opposition to President Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) came from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)
led by Dr. Kizza Besigye. In November 2005 Dr. Besigye was charged with treason
terrorism and rape
although a February 2006 court decision to adjourn trial proceedings allowed him to participate in the elections. Other parties contesting the poll included the Democratic Party (DP)
led by Mr. John Ssebaana Kizito
and the Uganda People's Congress (UPC)
led by Mr. Miria Obote.
In all
992 candidates contested the parliamentary elections: 799 in the 215 constituencies
and 193 in 69 of the district seats reserved for women. The NRM nominated candidates in all constituencies
of whom 16 were unopposed. The FDC backed a total of 174 candidates. The DP and the UPC endorsed about 80 candidates each
and there were 351 independent candidates.
As on previous occasions
the economy and the rebellion in northern Uganda led by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) were the main electoral issues. The NRM fought the elections with the slogan "Prosperity for All"
pledging to transform Uganda into a modern
united and prosperous society. President Museveni also promised to intensify operations against the LRA. Meanwhile
the FDC called on voters to support its five-point manifesto
under the slogan "One Uganda
One People" and pledged to enhance unity and peace in the country. During the election campaign
two FDC supporters were reportedly killed by armed men on 15 February.
Approximately 68 per cent of the 10.4 million registered voters turned out at the polls. International observers from the Commonwealth
the African Union
the East African Community
and the European Union (EU) monitored the poll. The EU concluded the elections were generally well-administered
transparent
competitive and relatively peaceful
while highlighting a lack of civic and voter education about the transition to the multi-party system.
The final results gave the NRM a total of 206 seats
followed by the FDC with 37 seats. The UPC and the DP won nine and eight seats respectively. Independent candidates also secured 37 seats. Some 80 sitting members of parliament
including 17 ministers
lost their seats.
On 25 February 2006
the Electoral Commission announced that President Museveni had been re-elected with 59 per cent of the vote
while his main rival
Dr. Besigye
had obtained 37 per cent. Dr. Besigye challenged the election results
claiming irregularities and electoral fraud. On 6 April
the Supreme Court dismissed the petition
judging that the irregularities had not substantially affected the election results. On 12 May
Mr. Museveni was sworn in as President for a third term.
The newly-elected Parliament held its first session on 18 May 2006 and re-elected Mr. Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi of the NRM as its Speaker.
Elections were held on 28 August 2006 for Women District Representatives in 10 of the 11 new districts
increasing the total number of seats held by women to 99. |
STATISTICS |
Voter turnout |
Round no 1 | 23 February 2006 |
Number of registered electors Voters Blank or invalid ballot papers Valid votes |
10'450'788 68%
6'894'800 |
Notes
|
|
Round no 2 | 28 August 2006 |
Number of registered electors Voters Blank or invalid ballot papers Valid votes |
|
Notes
|
|
Distribution of votes |
Round no 1
|
Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
National Resistance Movement (NRM) |
275 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) |
174 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Uganda People's Congress (UPC) |
88 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Democratic Party (DP) |
81 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conservative Party (CP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justice Forum of Uganda (JEEMA) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
National Resistance Movement (NRM) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distribution of seats |
Round no 1
|
Political Group |
Total
|
Constituency |
District woman |
Other indirect seats |
|
National Resistance Movement (NRM) |
206
|
141 |
51 |
14 |
|
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) |
37
|
27 |
10 |
0 |
|
Independents |
37
|
28 |
8 |
1 |
|
Uganda People's Congress (UPC) |
9
|
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Democratic Party (DP) |
8
|
8 |
0 |
0 |
|
Conservative Party (CP) |
1
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Justice Forum of Uganda (JEEMA) |
1
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Round no 2
|
Political Group |
Total
|
Constituency |
District woman |
Other indirect seats |
|
National Resistance Movement (NRM) |
7
|
|
7 |
|
|
Independents |
3
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men Women Percent of women |
233 99 29.73%
|
Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years 31 to 40 years 41 to 50 years 51 to 60 years 61 to 70 years Over 70 years Unknown
|
18 85 113 76 21 3 16
|
Distribution of seats according to profession |
Unknown |
48 |
Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers) |
46 |
Educators |
45 |
Others |
38 |
Bankers (including invest bankers)/accountants |
36 |
Legal professions |
32 |
Scientists |
14 |
Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
11 |
Medical professions (doctors
dentists
nurses) |
11 |
Military/police officers |
10 |
Economists |
10 |
Business/trade/industry employees
including executives |
9 |
Engineers/PC experts |
6 |
Consultants (including real estate agents) |
5 |
Media-related professions (journalists/publishers) |
4 |
Liberal professions (including artists
authors) and sports professionals |
3 |
Architects |
2 |
Clerical occupations |
2 |
|
Comments |
Note on 'Distribution of seats' (Round no 1):
- "Constituency" refers to 215 constituency representatives
- "District Woman" refers to 69 Women District Representatives;
- "Other indirect seats" include: (a) 5 Youth Representatives
(b) 5 Representatives of disabled persons
and (c) 5 Workers' Representatives . At least one member of each category must be a woman.
In addition
there are 13 ex-officio members and 10 members representing the Uganda People's Defence Forces.
The statistics above include the results of the by-election held on 30 June 2006 to replace an elected NRM candidate who had passed away before taking the oath for members of parliament. Another NRM candidate won the seat in the by-election
thus giving the party a total of 206 seats.
Note on 'Distribution of seats' (Round no 2)
Elections were not held in one district
meaning that one seat for Women District Representatives remained vacant as at 10 January 2007.
Breakdown of the 99 seats won by women:
- Constituency Representatives: 14
- Women District Representatives: 79 (one District seat remains vacant)
- Youth Representatives : 1
- Representatives of disabled persons: 1
- Workers Representatives: 2
- Representatives of the Uganda People's Defense Forces: 2
Sources:
- Parliament (03.04.2006; 07.06.2006; 13.06.2006
28.06.2006
10.01.2007
01.01.2007
01.01.2010)
- http://www.ec.or.ug/ |