By KT Reporter
As the sun beat down on the narrow paths of Nansana Municipality, parliamentary candidate Harold Kaija moved from house to house, knocking on doors with a simple message: Your vote still matters.
But behind many of those doors, he encountered silence, fear, and resignation. Campaigning under the People’s Front for Freedom ticket, Kaija says a deep sense of voter apathy is taking root across the municipality.
On Sunday, as he walked through crowded trading centres and quiet residential zones, one message kept repeating itself: “Our vote won’t change anything.” Kaija says the words weigh heavily on him. Many residents, he explains, believe that the system is unchanged, the leaders recycle themselves, and ordinary people’s lives remain stuck.
To him, it is painful to watch hope fade among voters who once believed in the power of the ballot. “People are tired. They feel abandoned. They believe voting is a waste of time,” Kaija said quietly, after hours of walking through the neighbourhoods. He admits the level of disillusionment he has met is far higher than he anticipated.
Among those he met is Grace Tukasiime, an elderly resident of Nansana East Ward. For her, the decision to stay away from the polling station is no longer political; it is about survival. “I cannot go there,” she said. “Haven’t you seen how the police beat people? That violence will continue on voting day. At my age, I cannot run or protect myself.” For Grace, the fear of being caught in chaos outweighs her desire to take part in choosing leaders.
In Yesu Amala-Ocheng Zone, Michael Mutebi has already made up his mind. To him, voting is theatre. Mutebi believes that the results are already decided and that there may be no point in voting when “the real winner will never be announced.”
Others see elections as a ladder for politicians rather than a bridge for citizens. Francis Ssebakijje believes the process benefits only those who get elected. He believes that politicians are only using the process to secure employment in government offices.
For Kaija, these conversations reveal a dangerous crack in Uganda’s democracy, a growing group of citizens walking away from the very tool that once empowered them. Still, he refuses to give up, and as he ended another long day of door-to-door campaigning, the reality remained that convincing people to vote now requires more than political promises. It requires restoring faith in a process many feel has forgotten them.
Yet still, he walks on, knocking, listening, persuading, hoping that somewhere behind one of those closed doors, belief in the power of the vote can be born again. “I may not win this election,” he said, “but I will keep knocking on doors until people believe their voice matters again,” Kaija told URN in an interview.
He urges opposition leaders to mobilise supporters to turn up on voting day, warning that those who desire change but stay home indirectly strengthen the grip of those already in power.
“A person who fails to vote, yet prefers change, hands an advantage to those already in power,” Kaija said. “When good people stay away, poor leaders are elected.” Political analysts agree that voter apathy remains one of the biggest silent challenges in Uganda’s electoral process, often fuelled by repeated unfulfilled promises and the growing belief that outcomes are predictable.
National figures show a steady decline in voter participation over the years. In 1996, turnout stood at 72.6 per cent. It dropped to 70.3 per cent in 2001, 69.2 per cent in 2006, and fell sharply to 59.1 per cent in 2011. Although it briefly rose to 67.6 per cent in 2016, turnout slipped again to 59 per cent in the 2021 elections.
Urban areas suffer the most. During the 2021 presidential election, Gulu City recorded the lowest turnout at just 33 per cent. Kampala, Amuru, Arua City, and Jinja City followed with turnout hovering around 45 per cent.
After the 2021 elections, Uganda Radio Network (URN) visited 30 polling stations in Kampala with low turnout. Many residents told reporters that fear of post-election violence forced them to return to their home districts before voting.
Others cited the belief that elections would not change anything, while some blamed delays in voting materials, and a sizeable number pointed out the cost and inconvenience of travelling to distant polling stations.
In areas like Naguru Parish, turnout fell below 20 per cent. Many residents live near police barracks, and local leaders explained that some officers were on duty on voting day while others had been transferred before polling.
-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
