1a) What do you understand by the term political party?

b) With Examples, illustrate how political parties arose in EAST AFRICA.

c) The role of political parties in development of their respective countries.
A political party is a group of dedicated people who come together to win elections, operate
the government, and determine public policy. A political party is defined as an organised
group of people with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions, that seeks to
influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office.
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to attain and maintain political
power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns, educational
outreach or protest actions. Parties often espouse an expressed ideology or vision bolstered by
a written platf with specific goals, forming a coalition among disparate interests.
Political parties tend to be deeply and durably entrenched in specific substructures of the
specific society in a sustainable and well functioning democracy. They can link the
governmental institutions to the elements of civil society in a free and fair society and are
regarded as necessary for any modern democratic system.
Political parties are funded by contributions from party members, individuals and
organizations which share their political ideas or who stand to benefit from their activities or
governmental public funding. Political parties and factions, especially those in government,
are lobbied vigorously by organizations, businesses and special interest groups such as trades
unions. Money and gifts to a party, or its members, may be offered as incentives.
b) Political parties in East Africa area as a result of the following social, political and
economic circumstances;
Colonial education also contributed to the rise of political parties in East Africa. As a result
of colonial education a group of east African elite with anti-colonial sentiments emerged.
These educated East Africans later became political party leaders of nationalist movements.
They played a decisive role in the mobilization of their people for political independence.
They include; Jomo Kenyatta (KANU), Milton Obote (UPC), Sir Edward Muteesa (Kabaka
Yeka), Julius Nyerere (TANU) among others.
Nationalism; Africans formed political parties to end all forms of foreign control and
influence so as to be able too take charge of their political, social and economic affairs.

Before 1960 most of east Africa was still under colonial control. However, by 1970 most of
East Africa was independent of European colonialism. Several factors contributed to the rise
of East African nationalism.
Struggle for independence; the development of political parties in East Africa dates back to
the days of the struggle for political independent in the late 1900s, when the nationalists were
at the pre-independence and post-independence periods. In the pre-independence and the
early post independence periods, political parties in East Africa were not ideologically based.
Rather, they were regionally based and woven around individual politicians who they saw as
their mentors. In the last ten years, however parties were registered based on the exigencies
of the time.
Referendum; national referendum in 2004, parties be free to operate. Nonetheless, the
United States was particularly concerned about the lack of political space and freedom of
speech that Museveni's 'Movement' has allowed other political forces. The United States also
expressed its disapproval of any attempt by Museveni or his Movement to tamper with the
constitution to legalize a run for a third term. For example in Uganda this was the scenario
until 2001; the need arose for parties that could usher Uganda into a new era of democracy
after over years of NRM Rule in Uganda.
Political differences; political parties have been formed as a result of failure cooperate
among the existing parties to form institutional transmission belt that conveys the will of the
voter to government and back. The diffierence such as Raila Odinga Vs Mwai Kibaki,
Museveni Vs Besigye, Bidandi Ssali among others.
Dictatorship; dictatorship and desires to cling on power by East African presidents like
Kaguta, Obote, Kagame fuelled the formation of political parties as they struggle to oust the
incumbents through peaceful transition of power. The increasing interference of the Central
government in judiciary, electoral body and media is also a significant factor in explaining
the explosion in number of parties in the 2000s. President Museveni has almost done
everything possible to prevent new, independent centres of power in states from rising again.
Necessity for change; One person alone cannot really change anything. Sometimes a unique
idea or demonstration performed by one person can get attention but usually it takes a group
to be noticed. It is easy for groups (the larger the better, i.e. Democrats/Republicans) to be
acknowledged if they have an idea to propose to government. The way these groups are

acknowledged is they are able to find many people who share an idea and show that there is a
large majority of people who feel strongly about an issue. This then has an effect on
government because the government officials who wish to be re-elected try to implement the
idea brought up into the government so as to gain the votes of the people in that party.
Social marginalization; the most popular argument links the participatory upsurge among
hitherto marginalised sections of society during the 1990s to the explosion in the number of
parties. Majoritarian politics around the issues of Museveni, Obote, and Besigye sharpened
caste and religious cleavages, which also led to the creation of more parties.
Bad governance; The marriage of convenience between the UPC and the Kabaka Yekka
deteriorated, and in February 1966, Prime Minister Milton Obote, who had been the head of
the UPC, suspended the constitution, deposed the president and vice president, and began a
move to power, which culminated in the proclamation of the Republic of Uganda under a
new constitution adopted in September 1967. The political situation under Obote continued to
deteriorate, and after an attempt on his life, Obote's government banned the opposition parties
and arrested 10 of their leaders. Uganda was subsequently declared a one-party state in 1969,
the UPC remaining as the only legal party. After the military overthrow of the Obote
government on 25 January 1971, Maj. Gen. Amin outlawed all political parties.
The centralization of the ruling party and its unwillingness to honor the ten point
program and removal of the term limits created a space for political leaders to form new
parties. The proliferation of parties and the large unwieldy coalitions at the national level is
associated with the high-handedness of the NRM high command chasing away minister who
disagreed with the Kisanja (3rd term)
Cabinet reshuffle; making and unmaking of chief ministers lead to an increase in the number
of parties in the states; for example JPAM Amama Mbabazi, PPP-Jabel Ssali Bidandi, If the
decision about who gets access to positions within a party or holds executive office on behalf
of the party is arbitrary, and is frequently made by one leader, then others within the party are
unsure of their career paths. Therefore, a politician would likely desert his parent party and
join another party to enhance his career prospects. However, lateral entry to a similar position
in another party is not always easy. Therefore, powerful politicians find it easier to form a
new party to contest elections.

Independence and neo-colonialism; most of the political parties were formed after
independence. Before independence, no fewer than 23 political parties were officially
registered. Of these, only two retained political significance in the years following
independence: the National Progress and Unity Party (Parti de l'Unit et du Progrs National
UPRONA), founded by Prince Louis Rwagasore, and the People's Party (Parti du Peuple PP),
an all-Hutu party. UPRONA, which initially controlled 58 seats in the National Assembly out
of a total of 64, was soon torn by internecine leadership rivalries. In time, these rivalries took
on the qualities of a racial feud between Tutsi and Hutu. In the National Assembly, the PP
merged with the Hutu wing of UPRONA to form the so-called Monrovia Group, while the
Tutsi wing of UPRONA referred to itself as the Casablanca Group.
Lack of free and fair elections; East Africa has been dominated by vote rigging for instance
In June 2000, the no-party system was subjected to a national referendum. Despite
accusations of vote rigging and manipulation by the opposition, Ugandans approved it. They
also re-elected Museveni to a second five-year term in March 2001. This divided the elites
and parties such as Abed Bwanika, Bidandi Ssali, Betty Kamya, Miria Matembe among
others.
Ethnicity; many parties in east Africa have been backed by various ethinic basis for instance
Kabaka Yeka (KY) and democratic Party from the Buganda region, Uganda peoples congress
(UPC) from northern Uganda. Conservative Party and Uganda Patriotic Movement
Without political parties our government would not be able to exist. The heads of
different political parties run our government. If there were no parties than whoever ran for
elected positions would win solely on luck and the amount of money that they spent
campaigning so that they could expose themselves to as many people as possible.
Increase number of unemployed youth; Especially if people with many similar ideas ran
against each other the winner would be based on who was more exposed rather than who was
more qualified. Going to vote would be near impossible because of the amount of candidates
that would be on the ballot.
c) The following are the vital roles played by political parties in East African countries
Social mobilisation; Political parties also actively try to gather volunteers to help register
voters as well as organize and run the election day voting. The hope is that the more people
that are involved in helping with the election, the more interest there will be in the outcome,

which should increase voter turnout. The ultimate goal is to get the person the party supports
to win an election.
Political change; political parties endorse and support individual candidates, because those
people share very similar ideals and political positions of the entire party. Thus, another
function of political parties is to present alternative policies to the electorate, called their
political platform. A political platform is the ideals and positions a political party has. Thus,
we often learn of the ideals a political party has from the members that support it.
Peace and stability; When a member of a political party wins an elected position, they in
essence take responsibility of running the government. This includes staffing positions with
loyal party supporters and developing connections among other elected officials to gain
support for policies and their implementation. For example, our current president, Barack
Obama, who is a member of the Democratic Party, did this when he named his White House
staff, Cabinet members, and other appointed officials.
Mediators; Political parties are often described as institutionalized mediators between civil
society and those who decide and implement decisions. By this, they enable their members'
and supporters demands to be represented in parliament and in government. Even though
parties fulfill many vital roles and perform several functions in a democratic society, the
nomination and presentation of candidates in the electoral campaign is the most visible
function to the electorate.
Good governance; A political party has is to put forth its own policies and oppose the
winning party, when appropriate, if the party did not win an elected position. The purpose of
this is to promote healthy debate so that the winning party remains fair in the policies that
they promote. For example, if you were to apply for a promotion at a job and a co-worker
ended up getting it over you, you would still hope that you would be listened to and valued in
your current role even though you aren't the person in power. The role of political parties in
ensuring probity, accountability, transparency and preventing corruption, especially among
government officials, is a regular feature of every democracy. The fight against corruption, in
particular, is difficult and multifaceted and would require the collective efforts of all political
parties.
Empowerment; the political parties are serving as an umbilical cord between society and the
state, ordinary citizens and social groups on the one hand, and organs of government on the

other hand. The political parties provide psychological anchorage to some Ugandans as
political rallies that are often characterized by music and carnival throw supporters into state
of ecstasy and give them a sense of belonging.
Democracy; A crucial is the contribution of political parties to the country's multiparty
democracy that it would not be out of place to describe them as the heart beat of the political
system. Even though the main function of Parliament is law making, political parties
operating inside and outside the House are effectively serving as a check on the Executive,
thereby providing the political balance needed in a multi-party democracy.
Both the ruling political party (NRM) in Uganda and the opposition parties are obliged to
collectively push the national development agenda forward. Managing the affairs of a country
is not a technical issue that can be handled by the wisest and best qualified people in society
alone. No political party can claim to have an exclusive antidote to the country's socioeconomic and political problems. The ruling party must, therefore, accept suggestions from
the minority parties to promote good governance and national development. Parties are
obliged to constructively keep the ruling party on its toes, scrutinize and criticize its policies
and programme to help solve the myriad socio-economic and political problems facing the
country.
Support civil society organisations; Political parties support vital state institutions such as
the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Electoral Commission,
National Commission for Civic Education, the police, and government departments and
agencies to carry out their functions effectively
Accountability and transparency; Political parties would be expected to demonstrate their
commitment to such a crusade by abiding by all laws regarding their financial operations.
Political parties are reminded that they are required by the 1995 Constitution to declare to the
public their revenues and assets and the sources of those revenues and assets. Parties are also,
according to article 55 (14) (b), "to declare to the public annually their audited accounts and
only a citizen of Ghana may make a contribution or donation to a political party registered in
Ghana".
Civic education; Political parties should complement the efforts of the National Commission
for Civic Education in educating the public on the rights and responsibilities of the citizenry
and the provisions of the 1995 Constitution.

Law and order; This would help guide the people in all their activities to ensure law and
order and stability for a law-abiding and hard-working population is a vital resource for peace
and nation building. It behoves political parties to ensure that their members are disciplined,
accountable and transparent in all their activities since the parties are avenues for the training
of political leaders. This is very essential because, in a democracy, political parties have been
a major vehicle for the recruitment of political leadership, providing electoral choice and
peaceful political competition and framing of alternative policies.
In conclusion, political parties have made invaluable contributions to east Africas
development and the promotion of democracy and good governance. However, military
interventions in party politics in the country have intermittently stalled the activities of
Parliament, the Executive and Judiciary as well as political parties.

References
Martin, Phyllis; O'Meara, Patrick (1995). Africa. Indiana University Press.
Miller, Charles (1974). Battle for the Bundu: the First World War in East Africa. New York:
Macmillan Publishers.