Publication

In February 2011, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni further extended his twenty-five-year reign by winning a resounding re-election victory. Analysts and opposition supporters subsequently ascribed Museveni’s victory to his government’s massive pre-election spending on public goods, and to supposedly widespread vote-buying practices. However, by analyzing two pre-election surveys conducted by Afrobarometer (November/December 2010 and January 2011), and a three-wave pre- and post-election panel study, the authors find little evidence that Museveni benefited significantly from practices such as public goods outlays, district creation, and vote buying. Additionally, they find little evidence that fear and intimidation were responsible for the election results.