NRM replaces expelled MPs today

Mar 21, 2011

THE NRM parliamentary caucus is to meet today to elect new leaders to parliamentary committees. The former leaders were affected by the court ruling on changing parties in the recent elections.

By CYPRIAN MUSOKE

THE NRM parliamentary caucus is to meet today to elect new leaders to parliamentary committees. The former leaders were affected by the court ruling on changing parties in the recent elections.

“We shall be replacing leaders of House committees who have left Parliament as a result of the court ruling.

"This is a stop-gap measure so that work continues as we wait for the swearing in of new MPs,” Daudi Migereko, the Government chief whip, said yesterday.

He said the process will be repeated when the new MPs take office.
He added that about 10 committees were affected.

The controversy was sparked off by George Owor who petitioned against the nomination of William Oketcho for the West Budama North seat on the NRM ticket. Owor had argued that nomination of Oketcho, an independent, to stand on the NRM ticket was null and void because he had not yet resigned.
The Constitutional Court agreed with Owor.

The Supreme Court is yet to hear an appeal and rule on whether the 77 affected MPs were lawfully nominated as candidates for the February 18 elections or not.

Many NRM members, including ministers, defied their party and sought nomination as independent parliamentary candidates after being defeated in the primaries.

The NRM scrapped the electoral colleges in selecting candidates to avoid the problem of members resorting to standing as independent candidates, but the problem was not resolved
The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, recently directed the MPs, including the ministers affected by the ruling, to vacate their seats.

Parliament spokesperson Hellen Kaweesa said the members are also required to refund the salary they have received since their nomination in November 2010. MPs receive about sh13m per month. It was not confirmed whether the MPs would also refund the sh20m given to each of them last month to monitor government programmes.

“By sending them out of Parliament, the members would be immediately scrapped off the payroll,”Kaweesa said.
The MPs will access the Parliament building like other members of the public.

Ssekandi said by seeking re-election on the party tickets different from those on which they were elected in 2006, the members were deemed to have lost their seats on the day of nomination.

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