NRM MPs vote to reject term limits

Kampala

The Opposition in Parliament was resigned in defeat yesterday after ruling NRM party MPs succeeded in blocking attempts to introduce constitutional amendments, the highlight of which was a proposal aimed at restoring presidential term limits.

Shadow Attorney General Erias Lukwago was left ruing what would have been, after a motion he tabled on the floor to initiate the process of moving a private member’s Bill was kicked out of the House.

It did not matter that Mr Lukwago and group had spent the last few weeks haggling with the government over the motion, which stood as the Opposition’s final push for electoral law reforms ahead of the 2011 general election. The private members Bill sought to restore the two five-year presidential term limits, that was deleted by Parliament in 2005.

The Bill also sought to legislate for the exclusion of the army from partisan politics, proposing the removal of army MPs from Parliament, and also contained a proposal to compel the President to seek the Opposition’s opinion before appointing senior members of the Electoral Commission, a move the Opposition said would make the body more independent.

Time barred
Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi told MPs that there was not enough time to entertain constitutional amendments. “We are at the brink of being prorogued and when we come back we shall be dealing with the budget and the state of the nation,” said Prof Nsibambi. “The nominations for President and MPs are in October and we don’t have enough time.”

Justifying his motion, Mr Lukwago said history had shown that post-independence elections in the country have been deeply flawed, before suggesting the amendments. “The current EC was appointed during the movement times and now we are in a multi party system, and it is currently non-inclusive,” he said.

Deputy Attorney General Freddie Ruhindi challenged Mr Lukwago to cite a ruling that challenged the competence of the Electoral Commission before telling MPs that including opposition members on the EC would polarise the body. He also objected to the idea of kicking army MPs out of Parliament.