Moreover, perceptions have an interdependent character where voters have the power to affect an election, while MPs shape voter perceptions. Voter perceptions are critical in shaping MPs’ electability (NGO Forum 2017). Perceptions are an essential political resource for electoral success. Political resources are anything that influences a political decision, ranging from social or psychological factors, material, personal or group attributes, authority position, network connection or an action such as political participation (Wängnerud 2009:54; Yamokoski and Dubrow cited in Dubrow 2015:478). Perceptions, like other political resources, are described by their distributional nature, meaning that different individuals or groups acquire resources to varying degrees and are shaped by contextual factors (Dubrow 2015: 179). For example, perceptions about women MPs are fragile; women are more likely than men to be perceived negatively because politics is considered a domain for men. Also, women in reserved (affirmative action) seats are considered noncompetitive in the electoral process through the ranks (Goetz 2002:573; Muriaas and Wang 2012:317). Women, therefore, must devise strategies to cultivate positive perceptions. Women must be entrepreneurs by building their following.
This article explores how women in reserved and open seats cultivate perceptions and their significance for women’s electability or re-electability. It begins with a brief background of women and parliamentary representation in Uganda since adopting affirmative action for political representation, followed by the methodology, findings and conclusions.
Background
Uganda is a liberal democracy, with elections occurring every five years. Uganda’s electoral system has varied since its independence in 1962. The country had a multiparty system in the 1962 and 1980 elections, the only two democratic elections held after independence before the NRM era. Idi Amin ruled Uganda by decree from 1971 to 1979 and suspended Parliament. Later, from 1986 to 2005, Uganda had a one-party National Resistance Movement (NRM) system but returned to multiparty politics in 2006.
The dynamics in the electoral system have had consequences for women’s political representation. The colonial period relegated women to the private sphere, forcing them out of the public life of which politics is a part (Ssewakiryanga 2014). Idi Amin’s era threatened women’s movements, and many collapsed (Kwesiga 2017:204). Women were limited to associations such as the Association of Married Women, reinforcing stereotypical feminine roles like home keeping and maintenance. In contrast, the NRM era brought women to decision-making by adopting the affirmative action policy for political representation. Women have been able to use the decision-making spaces to pass gender-friendly legislation.
Additionally, women’s constitutional recognition and acceptance in decision-making gave them confidence in the government’s goodwill, prompting them to rally behind the government in return (Tamale 1999:104). As a result, women’s relationship with the NRM government has been transactional. The NRM government has been criticised for exploiting affirmative action to achieve political ends and not promoting the genuine emancipation of women, for instance, by using women as a vote bank to achieve political victory (Ottemoeller 1999:98; Goetz 2002:560).
The lessons from Uganda’s history have shaped the country’s political and electoral terrain. As a result, Uganda’s democracy has improved compared to the previous regimes. First, the NRM government introduced an independent electoral commission to manage elections as part of its commitment to ensuring democracy. Further, the NRM government legalised the electoral commission under Article 60 of the 1995 constitution of the Republic of Uganda. The electoral commission is mandated to provide free and fair elections, organise elections and referenda according to the principles of democracy, demarcate constituencies, declare results, handle election complaints and conduct civic education. In addition, the Electoral Commission defines eligibility for electoral office, voting, and the geographical area of representation. In practice, however, democratic principles fall short. The political environment remains unfriendly to women (UWONET 2016:65). Candidates in opposition continue to suffer the effects of party dominance (Gibb, 2016:93). Also, the militarisation of politics continues to threaten women’s political ambitions (Goetz 2002: 156). Hence, there is criticism that Uganda’s democracy under the NRM is pseudo.