Napak District Woman MP Faith Lori Nakut tables the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in Parliament on May 13, 2025. PHOTO/IBRAHIM KAVUMA
Political parties that will not subscribe to the National Consultative Forum (NCF) and fail to engage in dialogue under the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (Ipod) will not get government funding. The tough proposals are set out in the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Parliament on May 13 granted Napak Woman MP Faith Loru Nakut to prepare and introduce the Bill in Parliament. Once amended and signed into law, the provisions will cut off funding to political parties like the National Unity Platform (NUP), which is neither a member of NCF nor Ipod.
The draft Bill seen by this publication, was supposed to be presented by the Usuk County MP Bosco Okiror, and seconded by his Bardege-Layibi Division counterpart, Martin Ojara Mapenduzi.
However, sources at Parliament told this publication that Mr Okiror did not show up because he was unwell, while the seconder had an abrupt engagement in Gulu, prompting Ms Nakut to step in.
The movers of the Bill want Parliament to amend Section 14 of the Act, which mandates the government to provide funding and other resources to political parties and organisations represented in Parliament, to ensure all political parties subscribe to the NCF, which was formed by the Act.
Mr Okiror argues in the draft Bill that the proposed amendments would end the habit of some political parties that refuse or fail to commit to the principles of tolerance, dialogue and peaceful co-existence between and among parties and organisations and their members who should dialogue under NCF or Ipod.
NCF is a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas among political parties, which was established under the Political Parties and Organisations Act No.18 of 2005.
Under this Act, each political party that has representation in Parliament is given funding through the Electoral Commission, depending on the number of members in Parliament.
The current Parliament has 557 MPs, with 529 directly elected, while 27 are ex- officio. The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has the largest number of MPs with 337 members, followed by NUP with 57, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) 31, and Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) 11, Democratic Party (DP) nine, and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Justice Forum (Jeema) with one each.
Mixed reactions
The proposal was on May 13 welcomed with mixed reactions from the political players. Mr Emmanuel Dombo, NRM spokesperson, welcomed the amendment, saying all parties should come together and dialogue for lasting peace.
“It is unfair to want the money when you don’t want to join Ipod. That's theft. They must join and we dialogue together with the other side if they only want the money, they are simply thieves,” he said.
Ms Sarah Birete, the executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance, said: “If Ipod was well structured with a suitable convener like EC - that’s a welcome idea because this will guarantee implementation of the outcome decisions.”
But officials from several Opposition political parties this newspaper spoke to said they were already members of NCF but do not support the idea of being forced to dialogue.
NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said political parties cannot be forced to join Ipod whose participation is meant to be voluntary. “We are already members of NCF and even hold the position of vice chairperson.
However, when it comes to Ipod, no one should be forced to participate in a dialogue where they do not subscribe to the ideologies involved. NCF was established by law, but Ipod was not. It was created by an individual and is not grounded in any legal framework,” he said.
He said NUP was not consulted by the originators of the draft Bill and warned that any processes undertaken must be handled fairly and transparently.
Ms Alice Alaso, the National Coordinator of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party, said the amendment is trying to coerce parties to associate at Ipod which is not a government institution.
“We are talking about public funds. The spirit of the law which we enacted – the Political Parties Organizations Act – which provided for the funding of political parties was based on the fact that a political party is able to generate leadership at a certain level, and in this case specifically Parliament, and that political party should be nurtured and supported because it is producing leadership for the country,” she said.
“That amendment may be coming to target political parties that are in Parliament but refuse to be in Ipod. I think even Ipod should not accept to be used that way,” she added.
The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party Whip in Parliament, Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, said while the proposed amendments may be useful, all political parties, both big and small, must be involved in the discussions before any changes are passed.
“All political parties need to sit down and reach a consensus on the issues raised. Funding should not be viewed as the only challenge we face,” he warned.
Mr Nsibambi said: “There are other pressing concerns that political parties are grappling with such as election-related challenges, governance issues, and human rights violations. The proposals are welcome, but it is important that all political parties are consulted and involved in the process.”
Previous disagreements
Unlike NCF, where all political parties are mandated to be members, Ipod, where joining and exiting are voluntary, has suffered setbacks since 2015. For example, ahead of the 2016 general election, the then opposition bloc under their umbrella body of The Democratic Alliance (TDA) unanimously pulled out of Ipod after they accused the Parliament of neglecting critical electoral and constitutional reforms.
Those who later split rejoined the forum. Shortly after the 2021 general election, two parties – NUP and FDC – refused to join Ipod, which they accused of fronting aspirations of the ruling NRM party. This prompted international organisations such as The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) to withdraw their funding to Ipod in 2022.
Ms Alaso reminded the movers of the Bill that belonging to Ipod is simply by memorandum of association but still sitting in Parliament, having members in Parliament is by the bigger mandate of Ugandans urging that Ugandans are bigger than the whims and the wishes of the people who sit at Ipod.
They say...
David Lewis Rubongoya, NUP Secretary General
We are already members of NCF. However, when it comes to Ipod, no one should be forced to participate in a dialogue where they do not subscribe to the ideologies involved. NCF was established by law, but Ipod was not.
Alice Alaso, ANT National Coordinator
The Political Parties Organisations Act was based on the fact that as long as a political party can generate leadership at a certain level, and in this case specifically Parliament, that political party should be nurtured, should be supported.
Compiled by Busein Samilu, Damali Mukhaye & Sylivia Katushabe
