DP welcomes Supreme Court ruling on electoral reforms
Jul 02, 2019
In March, Makerere University law dons; Prof Fredrick Ssempebwa, Prof Fredrick Jjuuko, and a regional organization for constitutional development (Kituo Cha Katiba), sued the AG for failing to follow through with the 10 recommendations of the Supreme Court made after the 2016 elections to better electoral reforms.
POLITICS
The Democratic Party (DP) has welcomed last week's decision by the Supreme Court that ordered Government to table electoral reforms in Parliament within one month.
A panel of seven justices; Stella Arach-Amoko, Eldad Mwangusya, Rubby Opio-Aweri, Fait Mwondha, Paul Mugamba, Richard Buteera and Augustine Nshimye in their ruling; observed that the Attorney General (AG), had made efforts to ensure that the court's earlier directives on electoral reforms were followed but not as they should.
"The proposed legislation for the implementation of the court's recommendation should be laid before Parliament within one month from the date of this ruling. We find that the Attorney General has made efforts to follow up the recommendations but is as yet to achieve the desired objective of the court," ruled the justices.
In March, Makerere University law dons; Prof Fredrick Ssempebwa, Prof Fredrick Jjuuko, and a regional organization for constitutional development (Kituo Cha Katiba), sued the AG for failing to follow through with the 10 recommendations of the Supreme Court made after the 2016 elections to better electoral reforms.
This was in the Presidential Petition of Amama Mbabazi Vs President Museveni, Electoral Commission and the Attorney General (AG).
The justices observed that the objective of the court's orders was to foster fair play, democracy, law, and order in politics of the country.
Addressing journalists during the weekly party press conference at the City House based party headquarters in Kampala on Tuesday, Norbert Mao, accompanied by other principals of the DP bloc, Abed Bwanika, Walter Mukaku Lubega, Michael Mabike, among other party leaders, suggested that consensus on the proposed reforms should be generated outside Parliament.
The DP boss said proposals from the citizens' compact, Inter-Party Organization for Dialogue (IPOD), Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, among others should be consolidated for Parliament's approval.
"On this matter as DP we are even ready to engage President Yoweri Museveni through IPOD to generate consensus on electoral reforms," Mao said.
The next IPOD summit is scheduled for July 25, 2019, and according to Mao, the issue of electoral reforms will seriously be discussed.