Focus: Campaign frenzy: Are you taken up?

Mid way through the parliamentary election campaigns, the fun some people are deriving from the frenzy seems to rival the message the prospective parliamentarians are trying to put across in order to get elected. Whereas many go to rallies to receive the message, some seem to be interested in the fun that has been generated by the campaigns. With loud music blaring from loud speakers and people hanging precariously on pick up trucks that sometimes move around town, some see this as free entertainment. Gatete, 21, will be voting for the first time come, September 15. He says that when time is available, he can not miss attending a campaign rally. This is not because he is a politico-a guy interested in politics of the day but also because he finds the campaigns refreshing in terms of the fun and “chaos” of the campaign processions. “It is very interesting to see people excited and walking long distances just because of the support they have for their parties,” says Gatare. As a supporter of FPR the party he says is the major political force in the country, Gatete says he believes many people who support the party are showing a lot of enthusiasm because of the “unconditional” love for their party. However not every one is into the campaign frenzy. Jackie, a bar attendant in Muhima says the closet she has come to being involved in the campaigns is only when she talks to people wearing party T-Shirts in the evenings. After attending rallies, some people retreat to their favorite bars to down bottles of beer and also carry out a “post mortem” of the campaign. Gatete explains that many people do not necessarily do this because of the campaigns but because the elections are the most topical issue this month. So when they are in bars, it is most likely that bar talk will quickly turn to the topic of the day-elections. “The noise people make while talking about campaigns is only rivaled by that of foot ball fans especially Arsenal supporters,” Jackie says. She adds that last weekend; a fight erupted after one guy got tipsy and made uncharitable remarks about a candidate who made it to one of the party lists. She says that the guy claimed to have gone to school with that particular candidate, and was sure he was not “intelligent” enough to represent people in the legislature. This she adds did not go down well with some who are ardent supporters of that candidate. An exchange of verbal artillery ensured and later blows were thrown about before they were calmed down by sober minds. But is it worth fighting over some body’s qualifications? Murekezi, a mechanic at “Good year” near Hotel Alpha Palace says that he can never engage in a fight or even a quarrel just because of a candidate. He does not see the importance of even spending a whole day running behind a particular candidate or party. “Why should I leave my work and go running around for people I will not see again until the next elections,” Murekezi asks, adding that he is not sure whether he will even get the time to vote. He says that he last voted during the presidential elections and that he will vote when the next presidential lections come around. “I think it is the president who cares much about us people for whom work is so hard for so little, many of these in parliament are not even well known,” he concludes. Contact: frank2kagabo@yahoo.com