IV.  Political Environment

A.  Nature of the Bilateral Relationship With the United States

The United States and Uganda enjoy excellent bilateral relations.  The United
States has supported Uganda's democratization process and human rights
reforms as well as its economic reforms and efforts to privatize state
industries.

B. Major Political Issues Affecting Business Climate

The main political issues which affect the business climate in Uganda are
insecurity in sections of the north of the country, widespread corruption,
and land tenure issues.  The land tenure problem will be taken up by the
Constituent Assembly which is currently debating a new constitution.  The
return of Asian properties confiscated by Idi Amin is well underway.
However, there are questions of traditional lands owned by the Kabaka (king
of the Buganda people) and others.  The question of who will have the right
to own or buy land in areas with traditional communal land tenure remains to
be settled.  Under current law, freehold title to land is not possible; land
is "sold" on long-term lease with all the seller's rights in the land
purchased by the buyer.

C. Brief Synopsis of Political System, Schedule for Elections and
   Orientation of Major Political Parties

A process of democratization is well underway in Uganda; a successful
election was held March 28, 1994 for the Constituent Assembly (CA).  This was
the first election by secret ballot since 1980, and is widely considered to
have been reasonably free and fair, and to have reflected the will of the
electorate.  The CA will debate and ratify a new constitution during 1994,
and, based on that constitution, elections will be held for President and
Parliament in early 1995.

The current government is built on a series of elected "resistance" councils,
from local government (RC I) through regional and district councils (RC II -
V) to the National Resistance Council (NRC), which serves as Uganda's
legislature.  The President came to power militarily in 1986 and has not yet
stood for election.

The major political parties -- the Democratic Party, Uganda People's
Congress, and Conservative Party -- have existed since independence in 1962,
but the government currently restricts their activities.  All three parties
advocate multiparty democracy.  All three are represented in the NRC, the
government, and the CA.