Uganda’s crippled opposition The ruling NRM, fused with the state, keeps a firm grip on power while opposition parties suffer internal organisational failure In its early years after independence, military regimes and single-party dictatorships ruled most African countries and competitive elections were rare. From the early 1960s to the end of the 70s, only about 55 elections were held on the continent, averaging three per year, wrote American political scientistsDaniel Posner and Daniel Young in 2007 in the Journal of Democracy. Most of these were not competitive, multi-party polls; they were merely referenda to endorse autocratic rule. Incumbent parties and…
