Uganda: A Deaf Democracy? Ugandans See Elected Officials As Unresponsive, but Still Prefer Democracy

25 March 2025
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Ssenkumba Muhammad and Angella Nakasujja

Performance ratings for MPs and local government councillors have trended downward over the past decade.

Key findings

  • Only one in four Ugandans (25%) think their local government councillors "often" or "always" do their best to listen to their constituents, and even fewer (15%) say the same about their MPs. Both proportions have declined in recent years.
  • Fewer than half of citizens say they trust Parliament (49%) and their district or city council (47%) "somewhat" or "a lot."
  • Roughly half of Ugandans approve of the job performance of their MPs (46%) and local government councillors (52%).
  • While most Ugandans (77%) support democracy, only 45% express satisfaction with the way their democracy is functioning, a 7-percentage-point decline since 2012.
  • Despite concerns about their democracy and their elected officials, few Ugandans (14%) see military rule as a viable alternative.

Democracy thrives on active engagement between elected leaders and the citizens they are supposed to serve, allowing the former to be held accountable by the latter (Maciolek, 2024). In representative governance, leaders are expected to listen to public concerns and make decisions that reflect the will of the people (Hatfield, 2024).

But critical voices in Uganda are raising concerns that many elected representatives are unresponsive to the needs of their constituents (Krönke & Kakumba, 2022). And Afrobarometer surveys have documented a decline in public trust in the country's democratic institutions (Koffi & Bojo, 2024) that may reflect broader frustration with a political class that has left many citizens feeling ignored and neglected.

Public frustration is aggravated by controversial decisions that seem to disregard citizen input. A recent example is the 2024 passage of the Coffee Act, in which Parliament transferred the Uganda Coffee Development Authority to the Ministry of Agriculture despite strong opposition from farmers and industry stakeholders. Many argued that this decision would weaken regulation and promotion of Uganda's coffee sector, yet members of Parliament (MPs) proceeded to pass the bill without addressing public concerns (Independent, 2024).

Critics also express dissatisfaction with perceived inefficiency and corruption in Parliament (Parliament Watch, 2025). Many believe that MPs prioritise self-enrichment over public service, as demonstrated by their approval of substantial funds to buy personal vehicles at a time when ordinary Ugandans were grappling with economic hardship and the government was appealing to private citizens to contribute money to procure COVID-19 vaccines (Independent, 2021; Aljazeera, 2021). Similarly, the 2021 removal of the presidential age limit, despite mass protests and public outcry, reinforced perceptions that Uganda's leaders value self-preservation more highly than the interests of the electorate (Voice of America, 2018; Monitor, 2017; East African, 2017).

If such instances of political neglect contribute to the erosion of faith in democratic governance, they may provide soil in which the appeal of military rule can take root. According to Asunka (2023), the inability or unwillingness of governments to fulfill the democratic aspirations of their citizens may be driving an increasing acceptance of military rule in some African countries. When democratic institutions are perceived as corrupt, inefficient, or unresponsive, some citizens may begin to view the military as a more effective alternative for restoring order, discipline, and integrity where democracy has failed (Mayer, 2022; Transparency International UK, 2007).

Findings from the most recent Afrobarometer survey show that few Ugandans think their MPs and local government councillors listen to ordinary citizens, and fewer than half express trust in these elected representatives. Public support for democracy remains strong, but satisfaction with the way their democracy is working is much lower. Even so, few Ugandans see military rule as a viable alternative to democracy.

Ssenkumba Muhammad Ssenkumba Muhammad is a statistician for Hatchile Consult Ltd., the Afrobarometer national partner in Uganda.

Angella Nakasujja Angella Nakasujja is a monitoring and evaluation officer at Hatchile Consult Ltd.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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