Dream deferred? Democracy and good governance: an assessment of the findings of Uganda’s country self-assessment report under the African Peer Mechanism
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Human Rights and Peace Centre, Makerere University
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Copyright © Human Rights & Peace Centre, 2008. All rights reserved.
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) heralds dawn of a new African continent with a commitment to redeem the continent in economic, social and political terms. One of the features of NEPAD is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), based on the belief that no redemption can occur unless African countries engage in some form of self-assessment, critiqued through a peer review mechanism. The countries that have acceded to the APRM are expected to be objective and to carry out their self-assessment in all areas including good political governance, in good faith and in a transparent manner. Uganda has completed its Country Self- Assessment Report (Self-Assessment Report) November 2007. It should be noted, however, that the credibility of a self-assessment report and its findings depends on how objective the process was and whether it was independent of political forces. The process in Uganda shows that the APRM process is to a certain extent state-centric, with a largely executive controlled body, the National Planning Authority (NPA), designated as the National Focal Point. In spite of this, the process of the actual preparation of the Report by the APRM Commission enjoyed relative independence from the government. The Commission was constituted, on the face of it, by a relatively politically independent team representing a wide array of stakeholders from both the public and private sector. A review of the Self-Assessment Report indicates that Uganda has registered progress in the area of governance, including free and fair competition for political power and respect for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. What is apparent from the Self-Assessment Report, however, is that the progress registered is mainly in comparison to past governments. The Report discloses a number of challenges that have hampered the deepening of democracy in the country. The biggest shortcoming of the Report, however, is that in some respects it judges progress by the extent to which the country has ratified the international instruments that prescribe standards of democracy and human rights. Sight is lost of the fact that ratification of an international instrument may not necessarily mean implementation. This appears to be the situation in Uganda. A review of evidence both within and outside the Report shows that the country is far from having free and fair competition for political power, respect for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. These conclusions are based on the following: • The Electoral Commission is not only poorly funded but is also administered in a manner that does not assure all political candidates of its impartiality. Evidence suggests a Commission which is substantially still under the wings of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Political Organisation. While the Commission has registered some progress in salvaging its image, that progress has been very slow; it has been frustrated mainly by failure on the part of government to adequately facilitate the Commission. • In the same way as its predecessors, the ruling party has deliberately suffocated multi-party democracy and has for most of its term reigned over a largely one-party state. The 2006 change from the Movement system to Multi-Party democracy has not ended the violation of the right to engage freely in political activity. The ruling party is bent on using both police and military force to suppress free political activity. • The rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution has largely not been observed, Constitutional amendments have taken place following processes influenced by corruption and intimidation. Additionally, court decisions have been ignored with impunity. Government dissent of judicial processes has been expressed openly, especially by the use of the military to undermine the decisions of court. In light of the above, pressure should be placed on the NRM Government to honour the country’s commitments to full democracy and respect for the rule of law. The judiciary and other institutions that support democracy and human rights should be respected. The Electoral Commission must not only be allowed to operate in an impartial manner but should also be provided with adequate facilities in order to effectively carry out its mandated functions.
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) heralds dawn of a new African continent with a commitment to redeem the continent in economic, social and political terms. One of the features of NEPAD is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), based on the belief that no redemption can occur unless African countries engage in some form of self-assessment, critiqued through a peer review mechanism. The countries that have acceded to the APRM are expected to be objective and to carry out their self-assessment in all areas including good political governance, in good faith and in a transparent manner. Uganda has completed its Country Self- Assessment Report (Self-Assessment Report) November 2007. It should be noted, however, that the credibility of a self-assessment report and its findings depends on how objective the process was and whether it was independent of political forces. The process in Uganda shows that the APRM process is to a certain extent state-centric, with a largely executive controlled body, the National Planning Authority (NPA), designated as the National Focal Point. In spite of this, the process of the actual preparation of the Report by the APRM Commission enjoyed relative independence from the government. The Commission was constituted, on the face of it, by a relatively politically independent team representing a wide array of stakeholders from both the public and private sector. A review of the Self-Assessment Report indicates that Uganda has registered progress in the area of governance, including free and fair competition for political power and respect for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. What is apparent from the Self-Assessment Report, however, is that the progress registered is mainly in comparison to past governments. The Report discloses a number of challenges that have hampered the deepening of democracy in the country. The biggest shortcoming of the Report, however, is that in some respects it judges progress by the extent to which the country has ratified the international instruments that prescribe standards of democracy and human rights. Sight is lost of the fact that ratification of an international instrument may not necessarily mean implementation. This appears to be the situation in Uganda. A review of evidence both within and outside the Report shows that the country is far from having free and fair competition for political power, respect for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. These conclusions are based on the following: • The Electoral Commission is not only poorly funded but is also administered in a manner that does not assure all political candidates of its impartiality. Evidence suggests a Commission which is substantially still under the wings of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Political Organisation. While the Commission has registered some progress in salvaging its image, that progress has been very slow; it has been frustrated mainly by failure on the part of government to adequately facilitate the Commission. • In the same way as its predecessors, the ruling party has deliberately suffocated multi-party democracy and has for most of its term reigned over a largely one-party state. The 2006 change from the Movement system to Multi-Party democracy has not ended the violation of the right to engage freely in political activity. The ruling party is bent on using both police and military force to suppress free political activity. • The rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution has largely not been observed, Constitutional amendments have taken place following processes influenced by corruption and intimidation. Additionally, court decisions have been ignored with impunity. Government dissent of judicial processes has been expressed openly, especially by the use of the military to undermine the decisions of court. In light of the above, pressure should be placed on the NRM Government to honour the country’s commitments to full democracy and respect for the rule of law. The judiciary and other institutions that support democracy and human rights should be respected. The Electoral Commission must not only be allowed to operate in an impartial manner but should also be provided with adequate facilities in order to effectively carry out its mandated functions.
Keywords
Governance, Democracy