Election Chaos

Every 5 years Uganda elects the leader of its country and for the past 30 years the same leader has remained in power, President Y.K. Museveni (due to his changing the "term limits" within the constitution).  Since mid last year the country has been preparing for February 18, 2016, the day in which most Ugandans are praying for a peaceful change in power.  Everywhere you look, there are campaign posters of people hoping to fill local government positions all the way up to the presidential position.  As elections have gotten closer and closer, the overall setting has become a bit more chaotic.  There are constantly giant trucks and buses full of people shouting, dancing and singing blasting through the villages and towns; people marching through the streets drumming and shouting to support their favorite presidential candidate.  There are several candidates running, but the main 2 which the election will come down to are Y.K Museveni and Dr. Kizza Besigye.  Most Ugandans you talk to, especially the younger generation, are ready for a change in power and complain about the extremely high unemployment rate, a lack of jobs for even the most educated individuals, poor roads and infrastructure, schools and hospitals which lack even the basic necessities, unreliable electricity (and the list goes on and on).  Of course as a PCV, i am not allowed to express any opinion on these elections, so everything which is written here is not my opinion, but simply accounts from the people around me and things i see.  I can definitely feel the tension rising as the days near closer.  Just yesterday in Kampala, Besigye was arrested which caused chaos and turmoil throughout the city as his supporters were outraged.  The city was filled with police and military who we have continually seen throughout the campaigning period, have no qualms about using tear gas.   Peace Corps has put in place an emergency action plan, and for now we are not allowed to leave our sites for 2 weeks.  So, i spent the weekend in town stocking up on food and preparing my emergency bag to be prepared for the worst but we are hoping for the best!  My plan is to spend election day at my house and stay far, far away from any of the polling sites!  I truly believe the safest place for me to be is in my village where i have a strong support network around me.  We are all hoping here that the elections go peacefully and whatever the results may be, that violence doesn't come about.

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Road just outside my house