Unfortunately, the cautious optimism surrounding Uganda’s elections on Friday seems to be more “optimism that Kampala won’t break out in riots” rather than “optimism that corruption might not prevail.” Ndesanjo Macha has an excellent roundup of Ugandans on Twitter at GV; my post on the elections is also up:
Ugandans go to the polls on Friday for the country’s second round of multiparty elections since current president Yoweri Museveni took power in 1986. The mood among both Ugandans on Twitter and the blogosphere is apprehensive.
If it is democracy, corruption always wins. (So there is no point in hoping that corruption will not win.) A system that says “give me your vote, and I will give you what you want” is a system where corruption is formalised.