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News release

Ugandans strongly endorse multiparty politics, but support for parties is faltering as perceptions of violence increase, Afrobarometer study reveals

29 Jul 2024 Uganda
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News release
Key findings
  • Support for multiparty politics in Uganda has grown from 42% in 2002 to 77% in 2024. But the perception that party competition “often” or “always” leads to violence has remained consistently high, rising to 75% in 2022 (Figure 1).
  • Identification with a political party in Uganda grew from 29% in 2000 to a high of 73% in 2012 and 2015, but has since dropped to 61% (Figure 3).
  • The proportion of Ugandan who say they “feel close to” the ruling political party increased from 20% in 2000 to a high of 47% in 2015 and 2019, but has since dropped to 42% (Figure 4).
  • Trust in the ruling party increased from 45% in 2008 to 71% in 2015, but has since dropped to 55% (Figure 5).
  • The share of respondents who say they would vote for the ruling party in a hypothetical election increased from 36% in 2002 to a high of 65% in 2015, but has since dropped to 56% (Figure 6).
  • Trust in opposition parties climbed to 47% in 2012 but has since declined to 33%.
  • Vote intention for opposition parties, in a hypothetical election, peaked at 30% in 2008 and 2012 and has since declined to 19.

Ugandans rank among Africa’s top supporters of multiparty politics but show waning support for political parties and report high levels of violence when political parties compete, according to the latest Afrobarometer survey.

Support for multiparty politics has risen steadily over the past two decades, but the belief that party competition leads to violence also increased. Meanwhile, identification with political parties has declined in recent years, along with trust in parties and the declared intention to vote them in a hypothetical election.