MPs afraid to go back to voters over age limit betrayal – Kadaga
Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- 307 Members of Parliament (MPs) on December 21 voted in support of lifting the age limit for presidential candidates and increased the term of Parliament from five to seven years. 97 voted against.
- On extra years for MPs, Mbarara Municipality MP, Michael Tusiime, argued that it would give legislators time to finish parliamentary business.
- Daily Monitor quoted him saying, “Five years have been found to be too short for purposes of development. During the first two years, Members are getting acclimatised to Parliamentary procedures, conduct and business.
Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, has said many Members of Parliament now fear to leave Kampala for their respective constituencies because they betrayed their electors during the vote on the age limit for presidential candidates.
Responding to Swede journalists who had paid her a courtesy call on Monday March 5 in Kampala, Ms Kadaga said the age limit debate pitted the people against Parliament.
The journalists said the media in Sweden had followed the 'unfortunate event', which must have put Ms Kadaga in a very difficult position since she is the person protecting the democracy in Uganda.
“Do you care to speak about the event that happened?” they posed the question.
“…there are members who are unable to go back to their constituencies because the people out there did not like the decisions they took,” Ms Kadaga replied.
Ms Kadaga said it was four months leading up to the tabling of the motion to seek a leave of the House to draft a Private Members Bill to amend the Constitution, the first through third reading and passing of the Bill were the most difficult in the history of the Parliament of Uganda.
“The whole country was on tension for four months. There is only one Parliament that has to do that work. You might not like it but someone has to do it and this is Parliament. So if a bill is there, you have to process it; you can’t take it to the market,” Ms Kadaga said.
The Swedes also asked her if she thinks it will be possible with a female president in Uganda soon.
“I think Africa is changing, the world is changing. Anything is possible. Yeah,” said Ms Kadaga.
Ms Kadaga said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s immediate former President, was a role model.
