THE PROBLEMS OF DEMOCRACY AFTER 50 YEARS PRETENSE

Democracy has two faces,the good one and the evil one. Its because of these two faces that most world leaders have formed a hiding place in the democratic processes, some for good and others for all the bad reasons.

The democratic majoritarian systems of governance is when the government does what a majority public wants, while in the pluralist democratic government, the public is considered as a whole seldom that demonstrates clear consistent opinions on day to day issues of government.

Democracy under the majoritarian system has its foes, there were times when  the majority citizens of a given country would choose or decide wrongly on a given matter thus compelling leaders ,or agents of government into operating unlawfully. This introduced the pluralist system of governance where the public was considered to be an infant who required close supervision of an adult throughout. The two faces of democracy were both meant to play specific scenes in the game of governance but not a design flaw or a trap used by the state to crash the unsuspecting citizen.

Problems only arise when the inexperienced leader or state agent wrongly applies the wrong recipe to the right dish.

Public opinion is simply the collective attitude of citizens on a given issue or question. The public's attitude towards a given government policy can vary over time, often dramatically. Public opinion must always be grounded on political values that people can only acquire through political socialization, a complex process through which individuals become aware of politics and its facts thus forming political values.
 People must always be exposed to the same sources of influence or agents of socialization. From childhood through young adulthood,families,schools,communities and constructive media. Pollsters reveal that in Uganda today majority of citizens are willing to register opinions on matters outside their expertise!..........., and that in most cases the government is constantly kept between the rock and a hard place in matters concerning public opinion. The problem here is simple to identify. Political ignorance in majority of citizens thus forming or forcing governments into the pluralist mode, giving the government the right to think and act on behalf of citizens with impunity.

Observers and framers of Ugandan politics today only guess at national opinion by analyzing news paper stories, politician speeches and voting returns(which have been rigged many times). It is as if the ruling party (NRM) never intended to create a full democracy or had a vivid image on what democracy was supposed to be. The attitudes and the actions of the parliament ,Ugandans thought would reflect public opinion especially on crucial issues like minerals resources, taxes, electricity and government abnormal spendings. No. The parliament today is a perfect indicator of how ignorant and spoilt Ugandans have become after 50 years of democratic pretense. There is strong suspicion that the press and the government connived together into deliberately dis-informing the public and diverting its attention altogether from gaining political awareness through its exploits in double faced democracy.

I believe that the solution to the Ugandan political chaos is hidden much in political socialization, and the vehicle to get us to this destination is the media and transparency in government dealings. Much focus should be aimed at,

•   Forming solid bases of public opinion,
• Establish principles to organize peoples beliefs and attitudes about politics,
• Transparency in  government business.

Happy golden jubilee Uganda.