EA MPs term limits to be scrapped
Jul 04, 2011
TERM limits for the East African Members of Parliament sitting in Arusha, Tanzania may soon be scrapped to align with the provisions in the member states national constitutions, an official at the East African Community Secretariat has revealed.
By Felix Osike in Arusha
TERM limits for the East African Members of Parliament sitting in Arusha, Tanzania may soon be scrapped to align with the provisions in the member states national constitutions, an official at the East African Community Secretariat has revealed.
“There is a proposal by the Council of Ministers to amend Article 51 (1) of the treaty, which limits the tenure of service of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) members to two five-year terms ,†Wilbert Kaahwa, the EAC legal Counsel told New Vision in Arusha on Friday.
He said the matter was being considered by the EAC Council of Ministers, the policy making organ.
The EALA is the legislative organ of the East African Community. It is composed of 45 elected members, nine from each partner state, plus five ex-officio members who are the five ministers responsible for EAC, the Secretary General and the Counsel to the Community. It became operational in 2001.
The term of the current MPs ends in June next year.
If the proposal is endorsed by the council, it will be debated by the five partner states before submitting it to the summit of the heads of state for consideration and adoption, Kaahwa explained.
The five partner states; Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya, each has nine representatives in the EALA who are eligible to a further term of five years.
Article 51 (1) says: “an elected member of the assembly shall hold office for five years and be eligible for re-election for a further term of five years.â€
EALA speaker Abdirahin Abdi told New Vision in a separate interview that the provision in the treaty which says an EALA member may serve a “further†term was open to interpretation by the East African Court of Justice.
He said worldwide, there were no term limits for Members of Parliament.
TERM limits for the East African Members of Parliament sitting in Arusha, Tanzania may soon be scrapped to align with the provisions in the member states national constitutions, an official at the East African Community Secretariat has revealed.
“There is a proposal by the Council of Ministers to amend Article 51 (1) of the treaty, which limits the tenure of service of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) members to two five-year terms ,†Wilbert Kaahwa, the EAC legal Counsel told New Vision in Arusha on Friday.
He said the matter was being considered by the EAC Council of Ministers, the policy making organ.
The EALA is the legislative organ of the East African Community. It is composed of 45 elected members, nine from each partner state, plus five ex-officio members who are the five ministers responsible for EAC, the Secretary General and the Counsel to the Community. It became operational in 2001.
The term of the current MPs ends in June next year.
If the proposal is endorsed by the council, it will be debated by the five partner states before submitting it to the summit of the heads of state for consideration and adoption, Kaahwa explained.
The five partner states; Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya, each has nine representatives in the EALA who are eligible to a further term of five years.
Article 51 (1) says: “an elected member of the assembly shall hold office for five years and be eligible for re-election for a further term of five years.â€
EALA speaker Abdirahin Abdi told New Vision in a separate interview that the provision in the treaty which says an EALA member may serve a “further†term was open to interpretation by the East African Court of Justice.
He said worldwide, there were no term limits for Members of Parliament.