The death of underdogs: when politics become game of wallets

There was a time, believe it or not when politics in Lango was a battle of ideas, not envelopes.

A time when you could rise from the dust of Aculbanya-Aboke in Kole district; ride your brother’s bicycle to a campaign rally, speak sense and boom, you were on your way to council or Parliament.

Those days, you are carried high by the weight of your ideas and your vision, not your wallet.

That time, my friend, was about 30 years ago – around the same time cassette tapes were still a thing and cows still feared thunder.

But today? Forget ideas. Forget competence, forget vision. In Uganda now, if your bank balance doesn’t scare a commercial bank manager, then my friend, don’t even print posters.

The deciding factor in elections has shifted from brains to budget. The game is no longer “who has the best plan,” but rather, “who has the deepest pocket.”

Let’s be honest: for a new entrant without deep pockets, trying to win an election is like trying to milk a bull. It’s painful, impossible and someone might get hurt.

It’s estimated that a successful Parliamentary campaign in Uganda now requires no less than UGX 500 million. That’s not a budget, it’s a mortgage!

And for what return? Stress, unpaid debts. Angry supporters who want “something small” every weekend, you become a walking ATM in a cheap suit.

Now, political parties? They’re mostly broke except, of course, for NRM which seems to have a magical ATM card that swipes directly from the national treasury. The rest are left with press conferences and goodwill.

To make matters worse, the Electoral Commission (EC), instead of protecting the democratic space, is now acting like a commercial bank. Want to run for MP? Pay UGX 3 million just to be nominated.

This fee wasn’t plucked from the air, it was reportedly engineered by sitting MPs to lock out the broke but brilliant would be capable leaders of the society.

And the EC, rather than regulate this madness, appears to be happily cashing in.

So, what we now have is an election season where money speaks fluently and vision and ideas stutters. It’s capitalism in campaign colors. A system where brilliant leaders are buried by bills and voters are reduced to price tags.

Gone are the days when vision could win votes. These days, if your manifesto doesn’t come with campaign allowances to voters, don’t bother printing it.

The author is a human rights advocate.