Commercialization of elections and the conduct of the 2021 presidential poll in Uganda

The pattern of ascendance to power by members of the political class in many African countries raises serious concerns about the integrity of elections in the continent. This factor is responsible for continuous declines in levels of political participation and adherence to rules governing the conduct of elections in the continent for decades. These developments are accentuated by poverty. The political class in Africa has resorted to the commercialization of elections which has culminated in the circumvention of electoral processes. This paper examined democratization processes in Uganda, focusing on votes buying, disenfranchisement and abuse of human rights in the conduct of the 2021 presidential election. It interrogated the phenomenon of the commercialization of elections and its implication for democratic sustainability in Africa. The paper relied on secondary sources of data which involved mainly content analysis of documentary data. The analysis was anchored on the theory of Post-colonial State. It found that the 2021 presidential elections in Uganda were characterized by the monetization of the electoral process. The paper recommended pre-election awareness campaign against the selling and buying of votes as well as strict enforcement of penalties on defaulters. Since poverty predisposed the electorates to vote selling, it was suggested that education, empowerment and employment would curb the trend.