1980 Ugandan general election

General elections were held in Uganda on 10 and 11 December 1980.^[1] They followed the overthrow of Idi Amin the previous year and were the first since the pre-independence elections in 1962. The result was a victory for the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) of President Milton Obote, which won 75 of the 126 seats. Voter turnout was 85%.^[2]

1980 Ugandan general election

← 1962 10 and 11 December 1980 1989 →
126 of 156 seats of the National Assembly 64 seats needed for a majority
Registered	4,898,117
Turnout	4,174,308 (85.22%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Milton Obote Paul Ssemogerere Yoweri Museveni Party UPC DP UPM Seats won 75 50 1 Popular vote 1,963,679 1,966,244 171,785 Percentage 47.07% 47.13% 4.12%
President before election Presidential Commission Elected President Milton Obote UPC

The UPC was the only party to contest all 126 seats, and its candidates were returned unopposed in seventeen constituencies. The opposition claimed that the UPC had only won through widespread fraud. Several opposition groups united as the National Resistance Army (NRA) under the leadership of Yoweri Museveni to start an armed uprising against Obote's government on 6 February 1981.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Party	1,966,244	47.13	50	+26
	Uganda People's Congress	1,963,679	47.07	75	+38
	Uganda Patriotic Movement	171,785	4.12	1	New
	Conservative Party	70,181	1.68	0	New
Total		4,171,889	100.00	126	+44
Valid votes		4,171,889	99.94
Invalid/blank votes		2,419	0.06
Total votes		4,174,308	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		4,898,117	85.22
Source: Nohlen et al.