Soldiers in parliament: Military power and legislative authority in Uganda

Abstract

The Ugandan military has played an outsized role in Uganda’s national politics for decades. Since 1995, the Constitution of Uganda has allocated 10 seats in the Ugandan Parliament to members of the national army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), which is considered one of several ‘interest groups’ represented in the legislature. The unusual arrangement of including soldiers in parliament raises important questions about democratization, political institutionalization, and civil–military relations in Africa. This article argues that in Uganda, the practice of having soldiers in parliament is rooted in the country’s civil–military relations, driven by ideology, patronage, and political influence, which are components of a broader strategy that helps maintain the stability and dominance of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and the National Resistance Movement regime. Data are drawn from interviews with current and former UPDF officers and parliamentary officials, a review of government publications, articles in the Ugandan press, and reports by local civil society organizations.