President can dissolve parliament, says cabinet
<b><small>White Paper departs from Ssempebwa</small></b><br>THE Cabinet has decided that the President get powers to dissolve Parliament in case of a deadlock, when the Executive and the Legislature cannot agree on a fundamental matter.<br>
By Hamis Kaheru & Felix Osike
THE Cabinet has decided that the President get powers to dissolve Parliament in case of a deadlock, when the Executive and the Legislature cannot agree on a fundamental matter.
Sources said this is contained in the White Paper, which will soon be presented to Parliament to guide MPs during debate on the Constitution Amendment Bill.
“Where there is a deadlock between the President and Parliament, the matter will be resolved by the President dissolving Parliament. We have made this position clear in the White Paper,†a source said.
When the President dissolves Parliament, he or she also resigns.
This would be followed by both presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), headed by Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa, had recommended that in case of such a deadlock, the matter should be referred to the people to decide in a referendum. The CRC said, depending on the results of the referendum, the President should resign or Parliament automatically cease to exist, paving way for fresh elections. The Cabinet rejected the CRC recommendation on the grounds that referring a stalemate between the President and Parliament to a referendum would be costly in terms of resources and time.
“The rationale for rejecting the CRC proposal is that it is not direct and it is more expensive because it involves both a referendum and elections.
“On the other hand, the Government proposal is direct and does not involve a referendum,†the source said.
The proposal sparked heated debate earlier this year, with those opposing it arguing that it would undermine separation of powers and breed autocratic presidents.
State minister for Luweero Triangle Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka was on January 29 booed by MPs at Kyankwanzi Leadership Institute and forced to abandon his speech as he tried to defend the proposal.
Sources said the Cabinet had proposed in the White Paper that the President should exercise limited legislative powers in matters related to investment, environment, public health and historical and archeological sites.
The CRC recommended the present separation of powers between the Executive and Legislature in which the President has no legislative powers.
Sources said the Cabinet was confident that the proposals would go through Parliament because of the overwhelming support the Movement enjoys there.
The White Paper reportedly says the size of Parliament should remain at 305 MPs, to give maximum representation to the population. The CRC recommended 120 MPs.
The Cabinet rejected the CRC’s recommendation that an MP vacate his seat if appointed a minister.
“The Government position is that the continued presence of ministers in Parliament promotes more interaction and cohesion between the Executive and Legislature,†said the source.
“Replacing MPs who have become ministers would be costly; it would mean paying two people from the same constituency,†the source said.
Ends
THE Cabinet has decided that the President get powers to dissolve Parliament in case of a deadlock, when the Executive and the Legislature cannot agree on a fundamental matter.
Sources said this is contained in the White Paper, which will soon be presented to Parliament to guide MPs during debate on the Constitution Amendment Bill.
“Where there is a deadlock between the President and Parliament, the matter will be resolved by the President dissolving Parliament. We have made this position clear in the White Paper,†a source said.
When the President dissolves Parliament, he or she also resigns.
This would be followed by both presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), headed by Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa, had recommended that in case of such a deadlock, the matter should be referred to the people to decide in a referendum. The CRC said, depending on the results of the referendum, the President should resign or Parliament automatically cease to exist, paving way for fresh elections. The Cabinet rejected the CRC recommendation on the grounds that referring a stalemate between the President and Parliament to a referendum would be costly in terms of resources and time.
“The rationale for rejecting the CRC proposal is that it is not direct and it is more expensive because it involves both a referendum and elections.
“On the other hand, the Government proposal is direct and does not involve a referendum,†the source said.
The proposal sparked heated debate earlier this year, with those opposing it arguing that it would undermine separation of powers and breed autocratic presidents.
State minister for Luweero Triangle Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka was on January 29 booed by MPs at Kyankwanzi Leadership Institute and forced to abandon his speech as he tried to defend the proposal.
Sources said the Cabinet had proposed in the White Paper that the President should exercise limited legislative powers in matters related to investment, environment, public health and historical and archeological sites.
The CRC recommended the present separation of powers between the Executive and Legislature in which the President has no legislative powers.
Sources said the Cabinet was confident that the proposals would go through Parliament because of the overwhelming support the Movement enjoys there.
The White Paper reportedly says the size of Parliament should remain at 305 MPs, to give maximum representation to the population. The CRC recommended 120 MPs.
The Cabinet rejected the CRC’s recommendation that an MP vacate his seat if appointed a minister.
“The Government position is that the continued presence of ministers in Parliament promotes more interaction and cohesion between the Executive and Legislature,†said the source.
“Replacing MPs who have become ministers would be costly; it would mean paying two people from the same constituency,†the source said.
Ends