Many think that had it not been for the presence of Mbabazi, the disinterest would be much more. This disinterest is always evidenced in the low voter turnout. In the 2011 General Election, turnout was 59.29%. The Electoral Commission recently noted that 15 million Ugandans have registered to vote in the 2016 elections. Assuming a constant turnout, then only 8 million of these will be turning out to vote. And before you dismiss these numbers, you may need to look at the 2015 Google Search Trends of Ugandans.
What did Ugandans search for in 2015? Did the 2016 Election feature anywhere? Was there any concern about the polls? Facebook, entertainment and soccer dominated the search results. In the rising topics, illuminati and Eddy Kenzo were overriding other search interests. Despite having a local league that’s seen a plunge in numbers, Ugandans consistently searched for live scores from the English Premier League and news about Arsenal, a favourite club for many.
When it came to image searches, Desire Luzinda a local female artiste, love and girls topped the list. The rising searches in this category included illuminati, illuminati members, Mayweather , King Saha and Rema Namakula, another popular singer.
It is clear that Ugandans are not looking for someone strong on policy in this election. It is also clear that issues won’t determine who wins this election but emotions will. Coupled with elections will be someone who is able to deliver the quickest monetary returns to the voters. Illuminati is a secret organization that is believed by Ugandans to be behind money, fame and power.
Though many in the past have considered Ugandans as “party animals”, the search trends confirm this. Music and movies dominate the Youtube search results. Could this explain why political rallies are now spiced with musicians and other entertainers? Could it be after all that the Uganda entertainers will influence the election more than we previously thought? The three major camps each has musicians signed up for the entire campaign period and praise songs released.
By taking a deeper look at the Google Search Trends of 2015, we could learn more about the average Ugandan voter than a man out on the street. And that message is what one chooses to make of the trends.
The Independent