Mityana North MP Wants Opposition Legislators Vote Own Leader

In what looks to be legislation that could pit the leading opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP) against the Parliament of Uganda, new changes in the leadership of the opposition in the House are being mooted.

Richard Lumu, Mityana North MP was on Thursday granted leave to introduce a private member’s Bill entitled the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2024 as he seeks to have the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP) elected.

Lumu, a member of the Democratic Party (DP) wants Section 8 of the Administration of Parliament Act to be amended to allow the opposition legislators elect among themselves the LOP.

He also seeks to amend the principal Act to provide that the LOP can be elected from any of the parties in opposition, something that could break the tradition whereby the party with the highest number of legislators in the opposition appointed the office bearer.

Also to be affected if the Bill is passed, is the office of the Chief Opposition Whip who has also been appointed by the opposition party with majority members.

According to Lumu, the LOP and the Chief Opposition Whip would be elected by only the opposition legislators with the Speaker of Parliament presiding over the process.

“Election is the epitome of democracy, I am a Catholic, there is an election of the Pope, the highest and respected leader in the world, if there is an election there [also]there must be an election here. We are in the Opposition, we were elected and we also elected you (Speaker), the very reason why you are seated in that seat. We also elect the President therefore, there is no reason why when we come to Parliament as the Opposition, we don’t elect our leader who is the Leader of Opposition,” said Lumu.

While justifying his motion, Lumu insisted that while appointing the current LOP, Joel Ssenyonyi, his party the DP was never consulted adding that this was contrary to Section 8 of the Administration of Parliament Act.

“It is important that the pillar of democracy, which is election, should actually be done by us the Opposition, who are actually about to take power. We need an election, clear, in the Opposition. Section 8 of the Administration of the Parliament Act Cap272 provides for the election of the Leader of Opposition by the Party in Opposition having the greatest numerical strength in Parliament. The Rules also say that other parties should be consulted, my Party has never been consulted on that whenever there is a new or the other Leader of Opposition,” added Lumu.

The motion was seconded by NUP’s Mbwatekamwa Kakembu, MP for Entebbe Municipality said that the decisions of the LOP in some instances have favoured only the party he or she comes from, something that needs to be checked.

“We have seen many times in Parliament where the Leader of Opposition thinks that all Opposition belongs to his Party, in this case it used to be FDC and all the Opposition would see as FDC and yet not. Because we didn’t participate in the election of Leader of Opposition, now, we are seeing the National Unity Platform (NUP). Come vote for your leader, he will respect you, he will unite all of us and with that, it will make us stronger,” said Kakembo.

Since the creation of the Office of the Leader of Opposition the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has appointed the LOP five times while the NUP which returned the high number of opposition legislators in 2021 has so far appointed two.

Current LOP Ssenyonyi has had a bumpy relationship with the Speaker Anita Among as he has publicly disagreed with the way in which she runs the legislature. It is not clear in the draft Bill whether the changes would take immediate effect once the President assents to the Bill if passed by Parliament.

While the majority of the MPs from NUP stayed back with their LOP by boycotting the regional sittings, two FDC legislators tried in vain to block the motion.

Okin P.P. Ojara, MP for Chwa West insisted that there is no need to amend the law because Parliament as an institution has not faced any challenges with the Office of the LOP in the current legal regime.

 “The current arrangement in Parliament is working appropriately because when you look at the entire structure of Parliament, we haven’t had a situation in Uganda where the Ruling Government elects their Party Chief Whips, where we have the Prime Ministers being elected, so this motion that he is trying to present is actually very dangerous,” he said.

Denis Oneka Lit, MP for Kitgum Municipality wondered why the motion seeking leave to amend the law on appointment of LOP has been moved during the northern region sitting of Parliament. He said that the arrangement of the regional sittings is that only matters affecting the particular region would be debated.

 “This is a special regional sitting and the first of its kind and the regional sitting began from the Northern Region and as such, I would really request that it remains a special sitting for the Northern Region. I see vividly, personal fights being embedded in a peaceful sitting. I would like us to proceed in the same spirit of the special sitting. This motion can be raised when we are back at Parliament, not at Regional level. Is it really procedurally right to proceed in this manner for us to bring personal vendetta in a regional sitting,” said Oneka.

But these voices were thwarted by the Speaker who ruled that what was happening in Gulu is a normal sitting of Parliament that proceedings are the same as it would have been at the Parliament House in Kampala.

She also said the law is not being amended to target Ssenyonyi who has boycotted the regional sitting in Gulu but for anyone who will become the LOP.

“Much as we are sitting in Gulu, this is a normal sitting. And as I said, let us not act in anticipation, there is no fight. The law isn’t made for one person, today I may be the Leader of Opposition, tomorrow another person will be the leader, but I don’t see any fight in this thing and you can reject it when it comes to the second reading. We shouldn’t deny a member his right which is enshrined in the constitution,” ruled the Speaker.

The Speaker has since directed the Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige to accord Lumu the necessary support to draft the motion in order to be brought to the House for first reading.

The LOP is a powerful officer in Parliament as he or she appoints the shadow Cabinet, ensures that an alternative budget is prepared and presented, and, also is a member of the Parliamentary Commission.