- One in 20 Ugandans (5%) identify democracy or political rights as a top priority for government action.
- Nearly three-fourths (73%) of citizens say they prefer democracy to any other form of government, and more than three-fourths (77%) think that many political parties are needed to ensure that Ugandans have real choices in who governs them.
- Majorities of Ugandans reject dictatorship (86%), military rule (75%), and one-party rule (63%), though opposition to all three authoritarian forms of government has decreased since 2022.
- More than four-fifths (83%) of respondents prefer choosing leaders through regular, open, and fair elections as opposed to other methods.
- More than seven in 10 Ugandans support parliamentary oversight over the executive (74%), presidential compliance with court rulings (73%), and a cap of two terms for the president (71%).
- A slim majority (51%) of citizens say Uganda is a “full democracy” or a “democracy with minor problems,” and a similar share (54%) are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the way democracy works in the country.
- About one-third of survey participants say President Yoweri Museveni “often” or “always” ignores Parliament (36%) and the courts (32%), while 61% say officials who commit crimes frequently get off scot-free.
- Perceptions of political freedoms are widespread: More than eight in 10 Ugandans say they feel free to choose whom to vote for without pressure (92%), to join any political organisation (82%), and to speak their minds (81%). A smaller but still substantial majority (67%) believe the media is free to publish without government interference.
Post-independence Africa continues to be haunted by military juntas and autocratic rulers that prevent democratisation or overturn democratic principles (Daly, 2024; Omar, 2022). Uganda’s journey to democracy traces back to its struggle for independence (Malango, 2018). The initial promise of democracy was short-lived, as military coups, brutal autocracies, and a civil war engulfed the country for more than two decades (Micheal, 2022).
Following the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) military victory in 1986, it released a 10- point programme for the country, which included a promise of democratic renewal (Mulera, 2020). At first, the NRM governed under a “no-party democracy,” in which political parties were banned. In 1995, a new Constitution was promulgated, and the following year Uganda held its first presidential election (Carbone, 2025). Political parties were reintroduced following a 2005 nationwide referendum in which Ugandans voted in favour of multiparty elections (BBC News, 2005).
Amid a range of internal and external constraints, Uganda has struggled to attain full democracy: The V-Dem Institute (2021) labels the country an “electoral autocracy” and states that the country’s rule of law and civil liberties were worse in 2020 than in 1990. President Yoweri Museveni, who according to Freedom House (2025) has held on to power “through various undemocratic means” since 1986, has announced his intention to run again in the 2026 elections (Hudson, 2025). Lawmakers voted to remove presidential term limits in 2005 and age limits in 2017, allowing Museveni to run in – and win – subsequent elections (Kakumba, 2021).
This dispatch explores Ugandans’ attitudes toward democracy, drawing mainly on an Afrobarometer survey conducted in January 2025.
Findings show that while nearly three-fourths of Ugandans prefer democracy as the best form of governance, only about half consider the country a well-functioning democracy.
Large majorities of Ugandans support presidential term limits, prefer an accountable government to an efficient one, and reject one-party rule, military rule, and one-person rule, though opposition to authoritarian forms of government has weakened somewhat since 2022.
More than eight in 10 citizens say they are free to join any political organisation and say what they think, while more than nine in 10 say they are free to choose whom to vote for without being pressured. Two-thirds think the news media is free to publish what they want.
