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Electoral Neutrality and the Incumbency Paradox: Executive Power, Appointment Authority, and the Subversion of Political Rights in Uganda

Authors: Turyafuna Derrick;

Electoral Neutrality and the Incumbency Paradox: Executive Power, Appointment Authority, and the Subversion of Political Rights in Uganda

Abstract

Electoral neutrality is frequently treated as an administrative or procedural concern, reducible to polling-day conduct and the technical competence of electoral management bodies. This paper rejects that narrow framing and instead conceptualizes electoral neutrality as a structural and constitutional question grounded in power, institutional design, and human rights. Using Uganda as a case study, and engaging constitutional provisions, electoral legislation, international and regional human rights treaties, and Supreme Court jurisprudence, the paper argues that where an incumbent executive remains in office throughout the electoral cycle while retaining decisive appointment authority over electoral institutions and security forces, neutrality becomes largely illusory. Executive dominance constitutionalizes incumbency advantage and normalizes elections that are formally lawful yet substantively compromised. The paper concludes that without a redistribution of executive power and a reconfiguration of appointment regimes, electoral processes may satisfy procedural legality while violating the deeper human rights norms of political equality, participation, and democratic selfdetermination.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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