Unregulated Campaign Spending and Its Impact on Electoral Participants

This Report documents how the exponential rise in election campaign spending in Uganda has bred commercialization of electoral politics into a monster that now rears its ugly head on democracy, national economy and social fabric. At the root of commercialised electoral processes is political corruption and its inevitable concomitants of weak political accountability and poor service delivery. The result is a distorted electoral system devoid of electoral integrity. Whereas elections have gained increasing prominence and importance in Africa as mechanisms for managing political change at Parliamentary and Local Government levels,power is destined to remain the preserve of the few who have access for campaign finance sources. The Report makes two major recommendations; a) Enact standalone election campaign finance legislation in accordance with good practices for mandatory public disclosure requirements, contribution limits, spending limits and reporting on pre-campaign and campaign spending by or on behalf of political parties and candidates.a) Carry out rigorous and sustained civic education aimed at changing the commercialized attitudes of the electorate in Uganda.