Women participation in the 2006 multiparty local government elections in Uganda : a case study of Amolatar District

Abstract

This study examined the issues of women participation in the 2006 multiparty local government elections in Uganda with particular reference to Amolatar district. The objectives that guided the study are; to examine gender implications of the legal and institutional framework of local governance in Uganda; to establish the extent of women participation in local government elections in Amolatar district; and to examine the gender implication of multiparty local government elections in Uganda. The study adopted both descriptive and exploratory research designs. The researcher gathered both quantitative and qualitative data from fifty (50) respondents using personal interviews, simple survey questionnaires, observation and documentary review. Four Focused Group Discussions were also conducted. The major findings identified during the study include the ignorance exhibited by both women and men on the legal and institutional framework, where by women have not found any opportunity to contest for elections beyond reserved seats. This is due to the perception that reserved seats are the only chance for them to participate and the directly elected positions are perceived to be an exclusive preserve for men. It was established that the level of women representation in the council had risen due to particularization of constituencies though their participation has not yet been reflected or translated into major transformation. It was also established that although the national laws governing elections were being changed to suit the new political arrangement, laws governing local government elections were not changed to suit this new dispensation save for the centralized officers. For instance, whereas, the 1997 Local Government Act reserves a third of local government elective positions for women, under the new political arrangement it was not clear whether these positions needed to be proportionately filled by the different political parties. As such, women who had previously competed against fellow women with less influence from the different political parties, this time round the contest moved from being between women, to being a contest of women against political parties. It is therefore, no wonder that for the first in the history of Amolatar, elders and men greatly supported women. However, this support was not premised on the notion of participation, but representation. The study then concluded that the number of Women participating in local government elections has been enhanced by the current legal and institutional framework, that there has been increased representation of women in local government councils since the NRM took over power in 1986. Although Uganda has changed to a multiparty political dispensation, issues of women participation are still not clear. Interestingly, Women in Amolatar district are still represented through the quota system and it is suffice to note that these political parties did not field women candidates on directly elected positions. The study recommends a number of strategies in which women participation can be increased. They include; adoption of a mandatory quota on direct positions for all political parties in Uganda, vigorous civic education especially in districts which were not only having their first elections, but also first multiparty elections, sensitization and awareness programmes in order to bring women on board (these should incorporate multiparty dispensation system), Civic education should also be re-introduced by the Electoral Commission to help in opening up awareness. The researcher hopes that these recommendations if implemented will go a long way in enhancing women participation in local government politics in a multiparty dispensation.