On Friday 18th Feb, the Presidential Elections were held in Uganda – a country which hundreds of kayakers visit every year to enjoy the wonderful white water offered by the White Nile. Uganda is generally one of the most stable and safest countries in Africa to travel around as a tourist but with the political instability of countries across Northern Africa and the Middle East hitting the headlines, I think it’s fair to say that we were all a little anxious to see that this election went smoothly in what paddlers affectionately call “the centre of the Universe”.
The current president, Museveni, has been in power here for 25 years and expectation was that he’d win once again. The results released today show that was the case, though opposing parties claim unfair practice and fraud – something I suspect will never be proved either way – a sad fact about African politics.
In the lead-up to the elections there was much excitement and loud rallies (often with a big sound system playing upbeat music in the back of a truck) were common sights across Uganda. People went around wearing the T-shirt of the candidate they supported and posters were stuck all over: from shops to mud-huts! I thought it was great to see a country really engaging with their politics and being proud to show they care about their vote and the end result. Sure, the system is flawed – for one it is almost impossible for many poor Ugandans from rural areas to register to vote – but it was still a refreshing change from the apathy you see in the UK. If only people would realise that at least every vote DOES count in the UK!
The video above was taken 2 days before the Presidential Election and shows a rally in support of Besigye, the main opponent to Museveni. We’d already been stuck in the middle of this rally for at least 10 minutes before I remembered I had my camera with me! There was very little in the way of trouble across Uganda prior to the elections – though this rally later met with a rally for Museveni and there was reportedly some small scale violence. On the whole, the people were enthusiastic and passionate, which was great to see (if a little daunting in their large numbers!).
I feel I need to finish this post by relating it back to kayaking, since that is what FlowFree is all about. I hope to do that without diminishing the importance of the democratic process (you judge that one?) that has just occurred here. Museveni regaining power means we can expect another term of stability in Uganda, which will allow us to travel there as tourists without too much concern for our safety… the major issue for paddlers there now is the immanent closure of Silverback and plans for further hydro schemes on the White Nile. But that is another story entirely…
