When Is Democracy Really Democracy?

What is a country to do when it claims to democratic, but its election system is the furtherest thing from a democracy? This is the case for Uganda and many other countries around the world. Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power since 1986 and earlier this year won his, what many believe to be, his last election. The lead to this election resulted in multiple potential challengers being arrested only to be later release. After the election, claims of election fraud and rigged elections were rampant. Despite these claims and the apparent evidence, the Uganda Supreme Court struck down any legal case against the president. Meanwhile, Uganda still claims to be a democratic nation.

Having spent some time in the country in 2013 and 2014, it is hard to get a pulse on how Ugandan citizens feel about Museveni. I actually had the opportunity to see and hear from Museveni at a public event, granted he only spoke in the local language without a translator. There seems to be much excitement around his presidency, but still others mumble about his legitimacy. There is a strong desire for democracy by the people I was able to meet, but there was also a belief that Museveni’s six elections met the expectations of democracy. Is there hope in a situation like this? I am not one to believe that democracy is the right answer for every nation, but if a country is going to claim democracy only to go on to rig elections, I remain troubled. It will be interesting to see if Museveni is in his final term as president or if he will change the law so that a president can be older than 75. We shall see.