Democratic Party (Uganda)
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Democratic Party
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|---|---|
| Leader | Norbert Mao |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Ideology |
Conservatism Liberal conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National Assembly of Uganda |
12 / 375
|
The Democratic Party (DP) is a moderate conservative political party in Uganda led by Norbert Mao. The DP was led by Paul Ssemogerere for 25 years until his retirement in November 2005. John Ssebaana Kizito replaced Ssemogerere, and led the party until February 2010, when Norbert Mao was elected party president.
In the general election of 18 February 2011, the party won 11 out of 238 elected seats. In the presidential election of the same date, Mao won 1.86 percent of the vote. As of June 2013, the party had fifteen seats in the parliament.
The DP was formed out of the religious and economic demographics that began to model politics in Buganda before Uganda's independence. Buganda is Uganda's largest ethnic region and has influenced the country's politics since the country was drawn up by the British colonial power. Buganda, like most parts of Africa before independence, had been visited by three key religious forces - the Roman Catholics, the Church of England (Protestant Christians), and Islam. They battled each other to extend their influence in Buganda and Uganda as a whole. In Buganda, all three built powerful indigenous alliances and tried to influence the Buganda King - the Kabaka. By the 1950s, the Protestants had achieved the most influence over the Kabaka.
Another important factor influencing Buganda politics at the time was what the role of the Kabaka should be in an independent Uganda. A significant majority in Buganda wanted autonomy with the Kabaka as the symbol of Bugandan self-determination. Most other people in Uganda, however, wanted a unitary modern state unhindered by traditional royalty. This aspiration was shared by some of the Buganda elite, particularly those who belonged to the Catholic Church. They formed the basis of what was to become the DP.
To the Kabaka, DP members were seen as disloyal, and, in response, the Kabaka formed an alternative more popular party in Buganda called Kabaka Yekka ("The King Only"). Realising they had little chance of winning support in Buganda, the DP under Benedicto Kiwanuka began to campaign for the support of other southern Bantu-speaking tribes in southern Uganda. The DP effectively became Uganda's first national political party.
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Wikipedia