E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A Correlational Study

Abstract

Limited citizen participation in elections, politics, and leadership remains a governance challenge globally especially in Low developed countries like Uganda. Citizens have over time through traditional methods, been encouraged to participate in elections; however, without internet use, no meaningful participation may be achieved. Electoral democracy has been one of the cornerstones of democracy all over the world. Without free, inclusive, fair, transparent, open, and credible elections being conducted, with meaningful representation of the people, the power of the people cannot be achieved. The objective/ purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the effect of E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda. This study took both the quantitative paradigm and qualitative approach, thus the adoption of mixed methods research in order to capture the conflicting ideas of reality with more focus on the quantitative approach. A correlational research design was adopted and a sample size of 472 respondents was selected. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient tests were used for the hypotheses. The results show that there exists a statistically significant and positive association between E-engaging and electoral democracy, based on Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The study recommends that there is a need to design easily downloadable mobile applications that can be utilised for online campaigns, online voter education and online voting. These should however, be first sampled like in a university election before being used in a general election to rule out their effectiveness and efficiency. These should also have internal security systems designed for the security of the ballot papers if it is for online voting in order to reduce the levels of voter bribery, ballot stuffing, delayed delivery of electoral materials and vote rigging.

Full text

International Journal of Geopolitics and Governance, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023
Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
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D
International Journal of Geopolitics and
Governance
ijgg.eanso.org
Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023
Print ISSN: 2790-9549 | Online ISSN: 2790-9557
Title DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/2790-9557
EAST AFRICAN
NATURE &
SCIENCE
ORGANIZATION
Original Article
E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A Correlational Study
Lydiah Namayengo1, Rogers Barigayomwe1* & Mbabazi Mbabazize1
1 Kampala International University P. O. Box 20000, Kampala, Uganda.
* Author for Correspondence email: rbirungi2013@gmail.com.
Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1274
Date Published:
28 June 2023
Keywords:
Online Political
Participation,
Electoral democracy,
E-engaging,
Online Discussion
Forums,
E-Consultation,
E-Polling,
E-Surveys,
E-Panels.
ABSTRACT
Limited citizen participation in elections, politics, and leadership remains a
governance challenge globally especially in Low developed countries like
Uganda. Citizens have over time through traditional methods, been
encouraged to participate in elections; however, without internet use, no
meaningful participation may be achieved. Electoral democracy has been one
of the cornerstones of democracy all over the world. Without free, inclusive,
fair, transparent, open, and credible elections being conducted, with
meaningful representation of the people, the power of the people cannot be
achieved. The objective/ purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the
effect of E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda. This study took
both the quantitative paradigm and qualitative approach, thus the adoption of
mixed methods research in order to capture the conflicting ideas of reality
with more focus on the quantitative approach. A correlational research design
was adopted and a sample size of 472 respondents was selected. The Pearson
Correlation Coefficient tests were used for the hypotheses. The results show
that there exists a statistically significant and positive association between E-
engaging and electoral democracy, based on Pearson’s correlation
coefficients. The study recommends that there is a need to design easily
downloadable mobile applications that can be utilised for online campaigns,
online voter education and online voting. These should however, be first
sampled like in a university election before being used in a general election
to rule out their effectiveness and efficiency. These should also have internal
security systems designed for the security of the ballot papers if it is for online
voting in order to reduce the levels of voter bribery, ballot stuffing, delayed
delivery of electoral materials and vote rigging.
APA CITATION
Namayengo, L., Barigayomwe, R. & Mbabazize, M. (2023). E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A Correlational
Study International Journal of Geopolitics and Governance, 2(1), 36-54. https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
CHICAGO CITATION
Namayengo, Lydiah, Rogers Barigayomwe and Mbabazi Mbabazize. 2023. “E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A
Correlational Study”. International Journal of Geopolitics and Governance 2 (1), 36-54. https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274

International Journal of Geopolitics and Governance, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023
Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
37 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
HARVARD CITATION
Namayengo, L., Barigayomwe, R. & Mbabazize, M. (2023), “E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A Correlational
Study”, International Journal of Geopolitics and Governance, 2(1), pp. 36-54. doi: 10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274.
IEEE CITATION
L., Namayengo, R., Barigayomwe & M., Mbabazize, “E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A Correlational Study”,
IJGG, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 36-54, Jun. 2023.
MLA CITATION
Namayengo, Lydiah, Rogers Barigayomwe & Mbabazi Mbabazize “E-Engaging on Electoral democracy in Uganda: A
Correlational Study”. International Journal of Geopolitics and Governance, Vol. 2, no. 1, Jun. 2023, pp. 36-54,
doi:10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
INTRODUCTION
Over the decades, the emergence of new
information and communication technologies
(ICTs), such as interactive cable communications
and multimedia personal computers, has generated
optimistic expectations of a more politically
engaged public. Since the mid-1990s, the
widespread diffusion of the Internet, along with an
accumulating set of highly publicised Internet-
enabled events, from Web-orchestrated protests at
the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO),
ministerial meetings in Seattle to Howard Dean’s
unsuccessful 2003 Web-centred campaign for the
Democratic Party primary elections in the United
States have renewed optimism over the role that
ICTs might play in helping to reinvigorate political
participation. Therefore, faced with the steady
decline in electoral turnout, politicians and political
scientists alike have pointed to new communication
technologies as possible remedies. Simplifying the
voting process and offering new, easy-to-use voting
modes, such as internet voting, was expected to
foster political participation or at least to put a halt
to further turnout decline (Alvarez et al.,
2000; Krueger, 2002; Norris, 2005; Trechsel,
2007).
In Africa, political communication during election
periods has long been subject to various forms of
regulation despite the fact that freedom of
expression is fundamental, and political speech is
the most protected form of speech in human rights
and constitutional law (McClendon & Riedl, 2019).
Most member states of the African Union have rules
on paid political advertising such as limits on
electoral campaign spending, the amount of airtime
that can be purchased for campaigning,
contributions of individuals, corporations, or
foreign entities, etc (Adu & Badaru, 2020). In
Nigeria particularly, the Independent National
Electoral Commission, as an electoral management
body, has since 1959 been a subject of contention as
a biased, government-influenced commission that
has failed to deliver Nigeria to credible elections.
Their election processes have always been
questionable, outcomes contested, and the process
characterised by allegations of unfair media
coverage. Nigeria’s Electoral Commission has also
been reported to be unbalanced; it sends out
untranslated voter education messages to the
populace that are difficult for citizens to understand,
has had counter allegations with the government,
has accepted the incumbents to bribe
Commissioners and Electoral Commission staff in
order to influence election results and declare them
winners leading to electoral conflicts among voters
or political candidates (Yimovie, 2017).
In East Africa, Kenya, a multi-party democratic
state founded on the national values and principles
of governance referred to in Article 10 of her
constitution, has viewed Electoral democracy as
highly related to the conduct of elections as a
process (Oxford Analytica, 2020). Unfortunately,
having democratic elections and voter choices
during the conduct of the competitive elections as a
pre-requisite for electoral democracy in those
economies has been influenced by one’s ethnic and
partisan ideologies instead of whether the
government in power has performed in the interest
of the citizens or not (Lacatus, 2023). Ethnic

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differences, social ties and political disintegration
among Kikuyus and Kalenjin, coupled with limited
voter education, a state-dependent Electoral
Commission, and unregulated campaign financing,
have not only been manipulated by political elites in
elections, reducing political deliberations to “bread
and butter issues” but have also caused voter apathy
that has limited citizen participation leading to low
voter turnout (Lacatus, 2023).
In Uganda, though, electoral democracy has had a
tune of multi diversity ranging from prioritising the
electoral process in its three stages to the other
contributing concepts like continuous conduct of
voter education, desire to have a competitive
electoral process and conducting of election
observation to ensure that national and international
election management guidelines and standards are
being followed to attain a free, fair, credible, and
transparent election (Blattman et al., 2019).
Unfortunately, for the last five constitutionally
conducted general elections in Uganda, the opposite
is what has been happening in 2001, 2006, 2011,
2016, and 2021 general elections (Lacatus, 2023).
These have been marred with voter bribery,
continuous military intervention in campaigns,
voting and the entire electoral process; citizen-
driven electoral reforms have continuously been
rejected by the government and Parliament, limited
voter education has been done, and even that done,
Electoral Commission has not done nationwide and
locally transmitted voter education messages, thus
leading to a low voter turnout (Kwaku, 2018).
For any country to have democracy, it must conduct
free, fair, credible, and transparent elections in
general (Yimovie, 2017) and observe electoral
democracy in particular, which most countries
especially emerging democracies, have not yet
thoroughly done (Helmut et al., 2018; Madueke et
al., 2018; Kwaku, 2018). This case is similar to that
of Uganda’s Democracy. In particular, Kwaku
(2018) notes that conducting free and fair elections,
as the key tool for Electoral democracy, makes
politicians act in the interest of voters, become
accountable and promote democracy and good
governance. He also observed that 83% of the
youth, women, men, PWDs, and public institutions
staff have not only failed to hold their leaders
accountable because they do not participate in free
and fair elections but have also failed to engage in a
competitive electoral process where all candidates
can freely campaign and speak to the electorate.
This has been coupled with the continuous lack of
voter education in the electoral cycle but also a
denial of the Electoral Commission’s approval of
election observers to observe the election, and
worsened by the government and parliament’s
failure to pass electoral reforms that would facilitate
a free, fair, credible, and transparent election
(Astrid, 2021). In emerging or infant democracies
like Uganda, Electoral democracy provides a direct
relationship between voters and leaders if online
political engagement platforms are provided in
pursuit of free, fair, and credible elections.
Objectives of the Study
The purpose of the study was to critically analyse
the relationship between e-engaging and electoral
democracy in Uganda.
The Specific objective of the study is as follows,
• To examine the relationship between e-
engaging and electoral democracy in Uganda.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Review
This study was guided by two theories, namely,
Uses Gratification Theory developed by Blumler et
al. in 1964 and General Systems Theory developed
by Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s & Ross Ashby in
1940.
Blumler et al. (1964) state that citizens utilise the
media to fulfil their own needs and only get
satisfaction when their interests or desires are
fulfilled. It therefore, contends that citizens should
do what they want with their media instead of the
media doing what it wants to the people. Using the

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User or Audience centred approach, people refer to
media for specific topics of discussion amongst
themselves if they are their preferred topics of
discussion and are in their interest. Uses
Gratifications Theory conceptualises and theorises
the study, especially in regards to the IV (E-
engaging) since its one of the most crucial parts/
components of Online Political Participation. This
theory is associated with the work of Madueke et al.
(2017) and Abubakar (2012) and it is associated
with the indirect effect theories of Mass
Communication and Social Sciences. The theory
seeks to establish why people utilise social and
traditional media and what they use it for.
In this study, the second theory was the General
Systems Theory which was promulgated by Ludwig
Von Bertalanffy & Ross Ashby (1940) as first
introduced to social analysis in Western social
sciences in their study. It states that there is gradual
unity and interdependence between component
parts of the system, in that any change in one part
definitely causes changes in the other parts and in
the entire system ultimately. This automatically
resonates with the election process, whereby a
change in one part or failure to have voter education
could automatically affect having a free and fair
election in its entirety. Ludwig Von Bertalanffy &
Ross Ashby’s (1940) General Systems Theory
conceptualises a system as something composed of
elements or parts (sub-systems as something
composed of sub-systems/ parts or elements, which
function as a whole). In regards, there is automatic
interdependence among the various parts of the
system, in that any change in one part automatically
causes changes in other parts and the entire system
(Udu, 2015; Yimovie, 2017).
Relationship between E-engaging and electoral
democracy
Studies like Madueke et al. (2018), Isidoropaolo &
Pieczka (2018), KaraKaya (2005), Helmut (2018),
and Aichholzer & Allhutter (2011) relating e-
engaging and electoral democracy can be found. For
example, Leke (2015) in his qualitative study
utilising secondary sources of data based on
documents and legal frameworks review, used the
lack of an enabling policy environment to explain
why women in Nigeria have not been fully engaged
in political participation, especially in regards to
democracy. A state cannot be truly democratic when
women are not given the opportunity to engage in,
consult, discuss, and take responsibility for their
own lives and choices before, within, and after the
conduct of an election. Unless all citizens are able
to fully participate in the issues in their country both
online and offline, the achievement of Electoral
democracy may just be a dream. The study
therefore, wanted to establish whether engaging
women, men and voters online could promote an
inclusive and transparent election.
Karakaya (2005) in his study on exploring the
Internet’s role in influencing political participation
styles and levels, reported that E-engaging through
political discussion forums online and groups was a
very important factor in political participation and
in enhancing electoral democracy. In particular, he
reportedly found that citizens choose or prefer direct
dialogue (online political discussions) with their
leaders instead of dialogue with fellow citizens. All
the citizens who engaged with their leaders through
online discussion political forums by use of
technologies have made the right political choices
when it comes to elections and selecting which
candidates to vote for as well as which policies to
support, thereby influencing or contributing to
political participation. This study therefore,
suggested that online engagement with the use of
the Internet between political leaders and citizens
positively related to political participation. I
therefore, wanted to conduct another study to find
out if political leaders having online engagements in
Uganda could contribute towards promoting a free
and fair election.

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METHODS
Research Design
This study took both the quantitative paradigm and
qualitative approach, thus the adoption of mixed
methods research in order to capture the conflicting
ideas of reality with more focus on the quantitative
approach. The study was also correlational -cross-
sectional because data was collected once from all
the respondents that could respond to the entire
research questions for the study. It was, therefore,
correlational in that it was interested in investigating
the association/ relationship between online
political participation and electoral democracy in
Uganda.
Target Population
The total population was 170 Youth, 150 Women,
100 registered voters (Men, People Living with
Disabilities), 100 CSO Staff and online media, and
110 staff from public institutions as adapted from
Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) table for determining
the sample size. Due to the time and cost, however,
it was more convenient to study part of the target
population that was more accessible, thus becoming
the “sample population”. These are the 118 youth,
108 women, 80 registered voters (Men & PWDs),
80 CSO Staff, and 86 staff from public institutions,
respectively (Sample).
Sample Size
This study utilised the Krejcie & Morgan (1970)
table for determining a sample size from a given
population, as quoted in Gay et al. (2003) and
Bakkabulindi (2011), because it was highly
recommended for use in social sciences, especially
in management courses. It is objective, gives out a
representative sample of the entire population,
brings out a sample that is not biased and can
approximate the attitudes of the entire population as
a whole. (Education and Psychological
Measurement, (1970) Vol. 30 pp. 607- 610 & the
NEA Research Bulletin, Vol. 38. (Dec 1960) pp. 99)
Sampling Techniques
To obtain the respective sample size from the five
subpopulations, the researchers used two-stage
(stratified - cluster) sampling, where, in the first
stage, the districts where the study was conducted
were stratified into four. A purposive sampling
strategy was also utilised to select the rural and
urban civil society organisations as well as the
national, international, and local NGOs and
academic staff that have continuously engaged in
online political campaigns to enhance democracy.
All governance NGOs, local and district NGOs,
political analysts, or those academicians that
publish online and are political commentators were
purposively selected due to their continuous
engagement in online campaigns and political
activities for the enhancement of democracy.
Data Collection Methods
the study being more of a quantitative survey that
involved a large number of respondents. Therefore,
a ‘survey method’ was employed. This involved the
usage of self-administered questionnaires (SAQs)
that enabled the researcher to cover all study
respondents quickly and at a fair and reasonable
cost. Furthermore, the SAQs-based survey method
was very suitable for the sampled respondents due
to their proficiency in the language that was used in
the SAQs (namely English) and their literacy levels
(ability to read and write). This method has also
been recommended by authors like Bakkabulindi
(2011), Arnstein (1969) and Barber 1984) since it
covers a large number of respondents for the study.
An interview method for key informants through an
interview guide and some focus group discussions
was utilised to collect data from other respondents
that do not understand the English language and
need interpretation, or even those with low literacy
levels (not able to read and write). This was done by
the researcher and the research assistants who
understand their local language and can interpret for
them. More to note, it gives an opportunity to the
citizens and other respondents to react to the study

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and provide first-hand information that relates to
current political affairs and political terrain/
environment.
An online opinion poll and online political survey
(e-survey) were used to collect information from the
study respondents to assess the effects of the
internet on political participation and to establish
whether online political participation, through e-
polls and e-surveys, can contribute to or enhance
electoral democracy. This method was also
recommended by Abubakar (2012), Cristian (2018),
and Gibson et al. (2003) because it is easily
accessible by the respondents no matter where they
are and how far they are. It was easy to fill or
respond to; it did not take a lot of time to respond to
the study and would give instant online feedback
and response on whether online political
participation can influence or promote electoral
democracy.
Data Analysis
Quantitative Data Analysis
Data in this study were analysed at three levels,
which include the uni-variate level, bi-variate level,
and multivariate level. At uni-variate frequencies
and percentages were utilised to describe the
respondents’ descriptive characteristics, which are
age, gender, education level, marital status, and
place of residence, among others, to be able to show
the distribution of respondents. Standard deviation
and mean were utilised to find out the levels of e-
engaging as part of online political participation and
electoral democracy in Uganda.
Bivariate analysis was applied in order to achieve
the objectives of the study by carrying out
correlational analysis and simple regression
analysis. Correlational analysis was utilised to find
out the correlation between electoral democracy
(dependent variable) with e-engaging as one of the
constructs of online political participation
(independent variable) using Pearson’s linear
correlation coefficient.
A simple regression analysis was applied to
investigate the average level of electoral democracy
for e-engaging as one of the constructs of online
political participation. To investigate the association
between gender, marital status and electoral
democracy, an independent sample t-test was used
since each variable has two categories. On the other
hand, to investigate the association between ages
(18 -30), 31-50 and 51 and above), an education
level (no education (never gone to school at all),
primary education level, secondary education level
and higher education), and district (Kampala,
Mbarara, Jinja and Gulu) and electoral democracy,
one way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) was used
since each of these variables has more than two
categories.
Multivariate analysis was used to investigate the
overall average change in Electoral democracy
considering all the constructs of Online Political
Participation. Here, a Multiple Linear Regression
model was fit.
ED = a + b (E-Enabling) + c (E-engaging) + d (E-
Empowering) + e (SD) + Error term,
where ‘ED’ was electoral democracy and ‘SD’ is
socio-demographic characteristics. ‘a’ was the
average value of electoral democracy keeping other
factors constant. ‘b’ was equal to the average rate of
change in electoral democracy to a unit change in e-
enabling, keeping other factors constant. ‘c’ was
equal to the average rate of change in electoral
democracy to a unit change in e-engaging keeping
other factors constant. ‘d’ was equal to the average
rate of change in electoral democracy to a unit
change in e-empowering, keeping other factors
constant. ‘e’ was the average rate of change in
electoral democracy to change in socio-
demographic characteristics, keeping other factors
constant. Data analysis was done using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
version twenty-one (21).

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Qualitative Data Analysis
Qualitative data analysis in this study was done
using thematic analysis. This took the reflexive
thematic analysis type under the inductive
approach, where the researcher did analysis without
a prior idea of which themes would emerge.
RESULTS
Socio-demographic Characterisation of the
Respondents
The marital status of different respondents is shown
in Table 1 for respondents’ demographic
characteristics. The results reveal that the majority
of the respondents (242, 50.2%) were married,
while those who were single were 240 (49.8%). It
was vital to get the opinions and ideas of both the
married and unmarried respondents in order to
establish whether marital status had an implication
on e-engaging under online political participation
and electoral democracy in Uganda. It was vital to
establish whether marital status can influence one’s
engagement in the electoral process or even whether
it has an impact on their utilisation of technology in
elections.
It was vital to establish the age of respondents as
part of the demographic characteristics. The
majority of the respondents were those aged 31 – 50
years with 206 (42.7%), followed by those aged 18-
30 (38%), and then those aged 66 years and above
with 60 (12.4%) and the least were those aged 51 –
65 years with 33 (6.8%). Based on the fact that the
majority of the respondents in the study (42.7% and
38% making 80.7% where young people is an
affirmation by UBOS 2020 that the majority of
Uganda’s population are young people (Uganda
Bureau of Statistics, 2020) who were very
instrumental in the 2021 General Elections and have
swiftly adapted the use of technology and Internet
in elections as asserted by Micheal Clouser et al.
(2014).
It was important to institute the education level of
the respondents to find out if the levels of education
of a given voter or electoral stakeholder may have
an influence on the way they vote or participate in
the electoral process. Regarding the education level
of respondents, most of the respondents had higher
education with 328 (68.2%), followed by those in
secondary level with 72 (15%), then primary level,
47 (9.8%), and the least were no education at all
with 34 (7.1%). Having the majority of respondents
(68.2%) having attained higher education level
(ranging from Diploma, Degree, Master’s degree,
Postgraduate Diploma and or PhD) in turn makes
the use of technology and the Internet in elections
easier to use and be adopted because the majority
can develop their own applications, or even use the
available applications to engage in online chat
rooms, e-Activism, E-campaigning and online
consultations in elections as well as utilise
technology in voting and election observation in
order to have a free and fair election (Perry & May,
2011).
By category, most of the study respondents were
categorically youth (18-30 years) with 205 (42.7%),
as proclaimed in the 2010 National Youth Policy
and the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, followed by
males (31 years and above) with 170 (35.4%),
females (31 years and above) with 94 (19.6%) and
the least were those persons living with disabilities
(PWDs) with 11 (2.3%). It was vital to separate the
People living with Disabilities as key respondents in
the study in order to ensure inclusivity, collect
views of all the people including the minorities and
promote the participation of the same as well as
draw lessons on how they can participate in the
electoral process in a bid to Leave No-one Behind.

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Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Characteristics
Frequency
Percent
Marital Status
Single
240
49.8
Married
242
50.2
Total
482
100
Age of respondents
18 - 30 years
183
38
31 -50 years
206
42.7
51 – 65 years
33
6.8
66 & above
60
12.4
Total
482
100
Education level of
respondents
No education at all
34
7.1
Primary level
47
9.8
Secondary level
72
15
Higher education
328
68.2
Total
481
100
Respondent’s Category
Youth (18- 30 years)
205
42.7
Male (31 years and above)
170
35.4
Female (31 years and above)
94
19.6
People living with Disabilities (PWDs)
11
2.3
Total
480
100
If Female, which position
Woman Member of Parliament
3
1.5
Woman councillor
28
13.2
Women political leader
31
14.7
Women in political parties
12
5.7
Corporate Women
18
8.5
Women (No political leadership role)
106
50.2
Young women
10
4.7
Others
3
1.5
Total
211
100
If youth, which position
Youth Member of Parliament
2
2.1
Male/Female Youth councillor
17
17.7
Youth political leader
12
12.5
Political party youth
7
7.3
Religious youth leader
24
25
Youth (No leadership role)
20
20.8
Others
14
14.6
Total
96
1000
If Male, which position
Directly elected MP
9
5.4
Male councillor
19
11.3
Mayor
9
5.4
LC3 Chairperson
2
1.2
Political party leader
10
6
Men (No leadership role)
106
63.1
Others
13
7.7
Total
168
100

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Characteristics
Frequency
Percent
Your Institutional
Categorisation/ Designation
NGO
36
8.6
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
26
6.2
Public Institution
144
34.4
Media
79
18.9
Academia (Students, teachers, Lecturers etc.)
52
12.4
Informal sector
38
9.1
Private sector(formal)
38
9.1
Others
5
1.2
Total
418
100
Voter Registration Status
Registered voter
459
95.4
Non- Registered voter
22
4.6
Total
481
100
Area of the Respondent
City
316
65.6
District
160
33.2
Diaspora
6
1.2
Total
482
100
Specific area of the
Respondent
Kampala
99
20.5
Jinja
161
33.4
Gulu
60
12.4
Mbarara
122
25.3
Others
40
8.3
Total
482
100
Type of Place of residence
Urban
358
74.3
Rural
124
25.7
Total
482
100
Accessibility to the Internet
Always
343
71.2
Sometimes
116
24.1
Never
23
4.8
Total
482
100
Do you own an Internet-
enabling Device?
Yes
425
88.36
No
56
11.64
Total
481
100
Source: Researcher’s Primary Data (2021)
Among the females, those without leadership roles
were (50.2%), those in political leadership were 31
(14.7%), female councillors were 28 (13.2%), while
the least number of females in leadership were the
Women Members of Parliament with 3 (1.5%).
Among the youth, most of the respondents were
religious youth leaders with 24 (25%), followed by
those who were youth that was not in leadership
positions with 20 (20.8%), then those who were
youth councillors with 17 (17.7%) and the least
were Youth Members of Parliament with 2 (2.1%).
Among the males, most of them were those not in
any leadership role with 106 (63.1%), followed by
councillors with 19 (11.3%), then other with 13
(7.7%), followed by both mayors with 9 (5.4%) and
directly elected MPs with 9 (5.4%) and the least
were LC3 chairpersons with 2 (1.2%).
We included this to find out the different types of
leadership that the youth, women, and men actively
engage in and at what levels since leaders have an
influence on their followers, and they can easily
influence their people/ voters/ citizens and followers
to adopt and utilise technology and Internet in the
electoral process in case they have adopted it
themselves (Madueke et al., 2017).

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Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
45 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
One hundred forty-four respondents making, 34.4%
came from public institutions, 18.9% (79
respondents) were from the media, 12,4% with 52
respondents from academia such as students,
lecturers, and teachers, 9.1% (38 respondents) were
from the informal and private sector, 8.6% (36
respondents) were from NGOs, and 6.2% (26
respondents) were from CSOs as also noted by
Kamp (2016) that many social media users in
governance are civic actors. 05 respondents (1.2%)
were from other organisations. The institutional
categorisation was meant to dig deeper into the role
of the different key electoral stakeholders in the
electoral process and how they would conceptualise
the adoption and utilisation of the Internet and
technology in elections and the electoral process
since each one of them has a role to play.
In terms of voter registration status, most of the
respondents were registered voters, with 459
(95.4%) fully registered with the Electoral
Commission and National Identification
Registration Authority (NIRA) and only 22 (4.6%)
non-registered voters. This was important to be
included among the demographics in order to
establish whether one’s registration status would
influence one’s attitude or perception towards the
use of the Internet and technology in elections.
Indeed, even those unregistered voters proved to us
otherwise when they were also in the affirmation
that the use of the Internet through E-engaging in
platforms like E-chat rooms can influence one’s
need to participate in the electoral process as long
as they can access the Internet through the Internet
enabling devices.
Most of the respondents were from cities with 316
(65.6%), followed by those from districts with 160
(33.2%), and the least were from the diaspora with
6 (1.2%). Due to the recent development of the
government creating 15 new cities where 10 of them
(Arua, Mbarara, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal, Mbale,
Masaka, Lira and Soroti) were to become
operational with effect from 1st July 2020 (Astrid,
2021), operating under the 1997 Local Government
Act and the 2017 Uganda National Urban Policy,
we decided to engage and have respondents from
both the city and the districts in order to have a
representative sample that can represent the
different dynamics of the entire country. This was
in a bid to establish how the Internet can be easily
adopted in the urban cities and rural districts in order
to drive the urbanisation agenda identified as a force
for socio-economic transformation as recognised by
the Uganda Vision 2040 and the National
Development Plan III.
Regarding the type of place of residence, most
respondents were from urban areas with 358
(74.3%) and from rural areas only 124 (25.7%). It
was vital to engage people from both the rural and
urban areas due to the differences in coverage of
internet networks in both rural and urban and also
capture their views towards the adoption and
utilisation of Internet and technology in elections
while establishing the challenges they may also
encounter.
Concerning accessibility to the Internet, most
respondents opined that they always had access to
the Internet (343, 71.2%), others accessing it
sometimes were 116 (24.1%), while 23 (4.8%)
never had access to the Internet. Before we make
any recommendations to the Government, Electoral
Commission, or other key electoral stakeholders, it
is vital to establish the level of people’s accessibility
to the Internet from wherever they are and also
establish the bottlenecks to access for those who do
not have it in order to understand the internet
dynamics and how best it can be adopted, utilised,
and easily accessed for use in the electoral process.
In terms of whether the respondents owned an
Internet-enabled device, 425 (88.36%) opined that
they did, while 56 (11.64%) did not have an
Internet-enabled device. Considering the fact that
the Internet, without one’s ownership of an Internet-
enabling device like a smartphone, laptop, desktop,
MiFi, or iPad is useless, and having it utilised in the
electoral process is a dream that may never come
true. The researcher found it worth establishing

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Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
46 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
whether the respondents owned any devices. This
would inform our policy recommendations to the
government and other key electoral stakeholders on
how to practically approach internet use in
elections.
E-engaging under Online Political Participation
The interpretation of means was guided by this
scale: 5 – 4.3 interpreted as “Very High”, 4.2 – 3.5
interpreted as “High”, 3.4 – 2.7 interpreted as
“Moderate”, 2.6 – 1.90 interpreted as “Low”, and
1.8 – 1.00 interpreted as “Very Low”. The results
are shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics of E-engaging as a construct to Online Political Participation
E – Engaging
Mean
SD
Rank
Interpretation
Using the Internet to organise opinion polls has the potential to
raise my interest in participating in politics.
3.92
1.18
1
High
Conducting online political investigations enables me to
participate in politics and Presidential elections.
3.91
1.22
2
High
Taking part in online political opinion polls raises my potential
to engage in politics and competitive elections.
3.79
1.18
3
High
Participating in panel sessions online helps me engage in key
political issues and solve electoral conflicts & disputes.
3.77
1.36
4
High
I participated in answering political questions online about
campaigns and Presidential elections.
3.57
1.38
5
High
I participated in panel sessions using the Internet for different
Presidential candidates and elections.
3.35
1.51
6
Moderate
Consulting me online helped me participate in political
discussions and democracy.
3.27
1.35
7
Moderate
I gave my views/ ideas on radio and online to the Presidential
Candidate in the campaigns and elections.
3.22
1.40
8
Moderate
Presidential candidates consulted me online during campaigns
and elections.
2.78
1.52
9
Moderate
Average
3.51
High
Source: Researcher’s Primary Data (2021)
One of the constructs used to measure online
political participation (iv) was e-engaging (iv2). E-
engaging was conceptualised and consisted of five
constructs that include (i) e-consultation, (ii) online
opinion polls/e-polling, (iii) online political
surveys, (iv) e-panels, and (v) online discussion
forums. This was measured by nine five-scaled
items/sub-constructs (E-Eng1 to E-Eng9). The
results reveal that subconstruct one (E-Eng1) about
whether using the Internet to organise opinion polls
helps to raise one’s interest to participate in politics
was ranked the highest with (M = 3.92, SD = 1.18)
interpreted as high. Online opinion polls are not
limited to the number of individuals by area of
residence they can cover. Individuals, locals, and
those in the diaspora can easily participate and give
their views on issues regarding politics and
elections using the opinion polls published and
shared online, thus raising their interest in
democratic issues of a given country. This was later
confirmed by the qualitative data from the key
respondents where Respondents 1, 2, 9, 10, 15, FGD
3, 4, and 5 and 16 Public Institutions all agree to
that.
Concerning subconstruct two (E-Eng2) about
whether individuals consider online political
investigations as an enabling factor in participating
in politics and Presidential elections was ranked 2nd
with (M = 3.91, SD = 1.22) interpreted as high.
Subconstruct three (E-Eng3) about whether taking
part in online political opinion polls raises my

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Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
47 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
potential to engage in politics and competitive
elections was ranked third with (M = 3.79, SD =
1.18) interpreted as high.
In terms of E-Eng4 about whether participating in
panel sessions online helps individuals to engage in
key political issues and to solve electoral conflicts
and disputes, this was ranked 4th under the E-
engaging construct with (M = 3.77, SD = 1.36)
interpreted as high. Regarding item E-Eng5 about
whether the individuals have ever participated in
answering political questions online about
campaigns and Presidential elections, the study
revealed that this was ranked 5th under the E-
engaging construct with (M = 3.57, SD = 1.38)
interpreted as high.
Concerning whether the respondents participated in
panel sessions using the Internet for different
presidential candidates and elections, this was
ranked 6th with (M = 3.35, SD = 1.51) interpreted as
moderate. Regarding whether individuals being
consulted online helped participants to participate in
political discussions and democracy, gave their
views on radio and online to presidential campaigns
and elections, and whether they were consulted by
presidential candidates online during elections,
these three items were ranked 7th, 8th, and 9th with
(M = 3.27, SD = 1.35, M = 3.22, SD = 1.40 and M
= 2.78, SD = 1.52) respectively interpreted as
moderate.
Specifically, the overall average of e-engaging
constructs was (M = 3.51), interpreted as high. This
means that, on average, the extent to which e-
engaging (online political participation) leads to
citizens’ engagement in the political affairs of this
country- Uganda, is high. By implication means that
the use of the internet to consult voters/ citizens
through e-consultation, conduct opinion polls and
surveys online, as well as conducting panel sessions
online can contribute towards citizens’
participation/engagement in a free and fair election.
Table 3: Correlations between e-engaging (online political participation) and electoral democracy
Variables
E-engaging
Voter Education
Pearson Correlation
.519**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
479
Electoral Reform Advocacy
Pearson Correlation
.372**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
479
Election Observation
Pearson Correlation
.405**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
480
Competitive Electoral Process
Pearson Correlation
.408**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
478
Effective Electoral justice and Dispute Resolution
Pearson Correlation
.412**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
480
Press Freedom Availability
Pearson Correlation
.417**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
480
Electoral democracy
Pearson Correlation
.547**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
476
**correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Source: Primary Data, 2021

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Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
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One of the objectives of the study was to investigate
the relationship between e-engaging and electoral
democracy. The results from correlation analysis
are shown in Table 3 above; those of simple linear
regression analysis are shown in Table 4, while
those multiple regression analyses are shown in
Table 5. In addition to investigating the relationship
between e-engaging and electoral democracy, the
research investigated the associations between e-
engaging and constructs of electoral democracy.
These results are also shown in Table 3.
The results show that there exists a statistically
significant and positive association between e-
engaging and electoral democracy, based on
Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The results
reveal that the relationship between E-engaging and
voter education was (r = 0.519, sig. = 0.000), and
with electoral reform advocacy was (r = 0.372, sig.
= 0.000) while that with electoral observation was
(r = 0.405, sig. = 0.000). The results also reveal that
the relationship between e-engaging and the
competitive electoral process was (r = 0.408, sig. =
0.000), while that with electoral justice was (r =
0.412, sig. = 0.000) and that with press freedom was
(r = 0.417, sig. = 0.000). These results show that as
e-engaging is increasing, also electoral democracy
is increasing. In other words, they move in the same
direction. The relationship between e-engaging and
electoral democracy was also investigated. The
results reveal that there exists a significant, positive
association between e-engaging and electoral
democracy (r =.547, sig. = 0.000). This implies that
overall, as e-engaging increases, electoral
democracy also increases. This is because the
association is positive.
Table 4: Multiple linear regression analysis of e-engaging and electoral democracy
Variables
Unstandardised
Beta
Standardised
Beta
t-values
Adjusted
R2
F-Value
p-
values
E-engaging and electoral democracy
E-engaging
0.32
0.55
14.24
0.298
202.65
0.000
Constant
3.05
Source: Primary Data, 2021.
The results from simple regression analysis, Table 4
above, show that, based on standardised
coefficients, the average rate of change in electoral
democracy for every unit increase in e-engaging
was (beta = 0.55). This implies that for every unit
increase in e-engaging increases electoral
democracy by 0.55. This value is statistically
different from 0 (or statistically significant) since (t
= 14.24, p-value = 0.000) and the overall model is
statistically significant (F = 202.65, p-value =
0.000). It also shows that the 29.8% (Adjusted R2 =
0.298) of the variation in electoral democracy is
explained by e-engaging. These results imply that e-
engaging significantly influences electoral
democracy regardless of other factors (e-enabling
and e-empowering) by 30%.
Table 5: Multiple linear regression analysis of e-engaging and electoral democracy
Variables
Unstandardised
Beta
Standardised
Beta
t-
values
p-
values
Adj.
R2
F-Value
p-
values
Constant
2.35
0.456
133.387
0.000
E – Engaging
0.08
0.139
2.755
0.006
E – Engaging
0.08
0.139
2.755
0.006
Source: Primary Data, 2021

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49 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
DISCUSSION
One of the objectives was to investigate the effect
of e-engaging on electoral democracy. E-engaging
was conceptualised as e-consultation, online
opinion polls/e-polling, online political surveys, e-
panels, and online discussion forums. Therefore,
discussion on all these constructs was considered in
this study.
E-consultation was positively associated with
electoral democracy in this study. Such findings
concur with studies like those from Japan (Holt et
al., 2013) and India (Kushin & Yamamoto, 2010)
who applaud the democratic potential of social
media as a platform for online civic and political
participation through continuous online
consultations, especially with initiatives to engage
the young people, voters, and other electoral
stakeholders. More studies from German (Rommele
& Copeland, 2013) further confirms that social
media has provided unprecedented opportunities for
opinion leaders to consult with people before they
share political content with them for non-political
reasons has enabled them to engage in politics and
elections, yet they would otherwise not have
engaged or went out to seek political information on
their own, as confirmed in the USA by Bimber et al.
(2015).
Online political surveys were also positively
associated with electoral democracy. Similar
findings were found in other studies from the USA
(Gainous et al., 2013), whose survey confirmed that
social media users are civically and politically
engaged citizens that continuously engage in online
surveys that influence the conduct of a fair election,
just like Bakker and De Vreese (2011). More from
the USA to confirm this is Bode et al. (2014) and
Hsieh and Li (2014) that confirmed that online civic
talk and political expression of citizens in exchange
with their leaders/ candidates is a positive predictor
of offline and online political participation that
contributes to a fair and inclusive election.
In this study, online discussion forums under e-
engaging were positively associated with having a
fair and inclusive election. Such findings were also
seen in other studies. In the USA, Vitak et al. (2014)
affirm the significant relationship that interactions
promoted in digital social media platforms can
influence the political and electoral participation of
voters and electors online and offline. In Nigeria
and Malaysia, Abdulraf (2016) also confirmed that
the use of Twitter and Facebook for cognitive
engagement and online political participation
provides voters with political knowledge that
increases their political involvement in key electoral
and governance issues. In the USA, again, another
study by Rainie et al. (2012) investigated social
media and political engagement in 2012 and found
that 39% of adults in the USA used social media and
that out of every eight adults in the USA used social
media for political and civic purposes.
In this study, conducting e-panels under e-engaging
was positively associated with electoral democracy.
To support these findings, studies from Germany by
Heblich (2016) confirm that the emergence of social
media created new participation, dissemination, and
engagement platforms where a panel of experts and
key electoral stakeholders are hosted to discuss
election-related matters that facilitate an inclusive
and fair election. In the USA still, Bode (2012), Gil
de Zuniga et al. (2014), Towner (2013), Valenzuela
et al. (2012), and Vitak et al. (2011) positively
related the use of social media for political
discussions, expressions, and conversations to
online political participation. In the United States of
America, Larisa Doroshenko et al. (2019) affirm
that the Internet enables individuals to get involved
in campaigns more quickly with less effort as they
listen in and follow online political panel
discussions in accordance with their political
interests and abilities thus expansion of new
democratic opportunities including fair and credible
election.
While the study found out that conducting online
panels under e-engaging was positively related to

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Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ijgg.2.1.1274
50 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
electoral democracy, similar studies confirmed this
from Sweden Gauja (2021) confirms the significant
relationship that social media through the internet
has facilitated the emergence of digital natives
(many online political groups) like getup and
change.org, and advocacy organisation like 38
degrees in the UK that facilitated over thirty-nine
million (39 million) individual political and non-
political actions across sixteen thousand (16, 000)
campaigns (home.38degrees.org.uk). New political
parties like the pirate party and Italy’s five-star
movement that embraced online platforms and
digital technologies utilised the internet to engage
citizens in campaigns, mobilise and consult them
online, as well as ascertain the electoral
stakeholder’s views and political policy priorities.
CONCLUSION
Results from the co-relational analysis/ study
illustrate a significant relationship between e-
consultation and electoral democracy, between
online opinion polls and electoral democracy,
online political surveys, and electoral democracy,
between e-panels and electoral democracy, as well
as between online discussion forums and electoral
democracy among voters, and citizens in Uganda.
Developing and implementing laws and policies to
support the availability of the internet and platforms
for e-engaging acts as an effective intervention to
increase citizens’ participation in leadership,
politics, and elections (electoral democracy) in
Uganda.
Recommendations
There is a need to design easily downloadable
mobile applications that can be utilised for online
campaigns, online voter education and online
voting. These should however be first sampled like
in a university election before being used in a
general election to rule out their effectiveness and
efficiency. These should also have internal security
systems designed for the security of the ballot
papers if it is for online voting in order to reduce the
levels of voter bribery, ballot stuffing, delayed
delivery of electoral materials and vote rigging.
These apps will act as political participation and
political mobilisation tools that open up Uganda’s
democracy to the diaspora and the world and will
enable the voters to access different perspectives
that better define citizen-driven democratic
objectives in a free electoral space.
There is a need to organise Live streaming of
political talk shows online as well as have intensive
coverage of political talk shows with key
stakeholders as they happen live. Adoption of online
Live reporting of the news as it happens, political
and electoral stories, instantly tweeting as the
political events and activities happen instantly with
their live coverage as well as sharing instant results
from the polling stations as the voting happens.
These results can be shared on WhatsApp groups
and on Facebook pages live.
There is a need for the adoption and Utilisation of
the Internet in the electoral process to avoid the
limited coverage of some traditional media houses
like radios and TVs that can only be accessed in a
small limited radius but cannot be accessed by the
majority of Ugandans including those in the rural
areas as well as those in the diaspora, yet the Internet
can enable everyone from wherever they include
rural, urban areas or abroad to follow and actively
engage in the electoral process.
There is a need for political candidates and leaders
to utilise the Internet in the electoral process in a bid
to reduce their lack of visibility and limited
exposure of their work by the traditional media,
which is controlled by editors, producers, and media
managers. Internet usage in elections will also help
to reduce the high cost of mobilisation of support
from voters to attend political campaign rallies,
reduce the control and limitations on the freedom of
speech for some candidates by their opponents who
are the owners of a given radio station or TV but
also candidates who may not be allowed to speak or
even opposition candidates who will not be allowed
to talk on state-owned traditional media houses,

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thereby facilitating a fair and inclusive competent
election.
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