On February 23, Ugandans went to the polls in their first multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections since 1980.

There is also need for the U.S. government to step up its efforts in encouraging President Museveni to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Northern Uganda.

    In 1986 when President Yoweri Museveni came to power through a military coup, overthrowing the then president Milton Obote, he banned multiparty politics. Museveni blamed the political parties for spreading sectarian hatred and violence. The 2006 elections were therefore a landmark event with historical importance for Uganda’s citizens.

    This does not mean that the whole electoral process went smoothly. It was marred with problems from the beginning. The electoral process lacked a level playing field. Kizza Besigye, president Museveni’s main rival in the elections, had his campaign hampered. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that, “the run up to the polls had been marred by intimidation of the opposition, military interference in the courts and bias in campaign funding and media coverage … The illegal involvement of the army in the campaign scares the electorate, while the opposition has its hands tied by politically motivated criminal charges against its leaders.”

    Though President Museveni won the elections, the results show a sharp divide between the war-ravaged north and the rest of the country. Museveni's inability to solve the conflict in Northern Uganda has shown the dissatisfaction of the northern Ugandans with the president. Museveni overall received 59% percent of the votes cast but performed poorly in the north where his rival Besigye scored highest. For Northern Ugandans Besigye held the promise of change and an end to the suffering of war.

    Sentiments are still running high in Uganda with the opposition leader still refusing to concede defeat with claims of irregularities in the electoral process.

    With Museveni still in power, the hope is that he will step up his efforts to solve the civil war in Northern Uganda and move ahead with a peaceful solution to the Lord Resistance Army that is still claiming a lot of lives in Uganda and Sudan.

    The United States has shown some commitment to the issues of Uganda. On February 2, the Senate passed a resolution, “Affirming the importance of increased international action and a national week of prayer for the Ugandan victims of Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, and expressing the sense of the Senate that Sudan, Uganda, and the international community bring justice and humanitarian assistance to Northern Uganda and that February 2 through 9, 2006, should be designated as a national week of prayer and reflection for the people of Uganda.” Thank senators who co-sponsored this resolution (http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter “S.RES. 366)

    Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has had a presence in Uganda since 1979. MCC programs have been providing essential relief services, community development projects, education, and HIV/AIDS work through the Generations at Risk program and peace initiatives. It is with great concern and compassion that the MCC staff in Uganda ask that we pray for the people of Uganda and encourage the U.S. government to take a leadership role in resolving Uganda’s problems.

    It is with hope, prayer and action that we are to remember Uganda in the days following this election as the opposition has yet to concede defeat and bring a peaceful resolution to the end of the elections.

    There is also need for the U.S. government to step up its efforts in encouraging President Museveni to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Northern Uganda. The United States should also speak out publicly about the humanitarian crisis and provide humanitarian aid and encourage a negotiated settlement versus military assistance.

    Let us also remember the people of Uganda in our prayers.

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