Opposition object to presidential polls Bill
Apr 21, 2010
OPPOSITION MPs last Tuesday blocked the debate on the presidential elections and electoral commission amendment Bills protesting that their proposals were left out by the legal and parliamentary affairs committee.
By Milton Olupot
and Mary Karugaba
OPPOSITION MPs last Tuesday blocked the debate on the presidential elections and electoral commission amendment Bills protesting that their proposals were left out by the legal and parliamentary affairs committee.
The Bills were being tabled for the second reading. Debate of the Bills was to follow a presentation of the committee report by the chairperson.
Shadow Attorney General Erias Lukwago demanded that the debate does not proceed because issues that were raised by stakeholders were ignored.
“I have amendments agreed upon by all parties, including the NRM. We handed them over to the committee but they have not been included. I request this House that this debate is deferred ,†he said.
Lukwago said the issues that were not included were the involvement of the army in elections, the involvement of parties’ agents during monitoring, and the term limits.
Tempers flared when the NRM secretary general, Amama Mbabazi, said the proposals were not binding to the committee. “We debated the proposals. Some were accepted, while others were rejected,†he said.
This prompted members to ask him whether the NRM was still part of the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue, under which the proposals were made.
Government Chief Whip Daudi Migereko argued that not all amendments presented to the committee could be included in the report.
Information and national guidance minister Kabakumba Masiko was booed when she said the debate should proceed because there was limited time.
Speaker Edward Ssekandi’s proposal that the amendments be considered at the committee stage was also opposed, forcing him to postpone the debate.
The Bills, tabled in December last year, seek to prohibit candidates and their agents from contributing to fundraising and giving out donations during campaigns.
Candidates or their agents in breach of the law will be fined sh960,000 or sent to prison for two years or both.
The Bills further provide for the EC to declare a candidate elected unopposed if his sole rival withdraws or is disqualified.
and Mary Karugaba
OPPOSITION MPs last Tuesday blocked the debate on the presidential elections and electoral commission amendment Bills protesting that their proposals were left out by the legal and parliamentary affairs committee.
The Bills were being tabled for the second reading. Debate of the Bills was to follow a presentation of the committee report by the chairperson.
Shadow Attorney General Erias Lukwago demanded that the debate does not proceed because issues that were raised by stakeholders were ignored.
“I have amendments agreed upon by all parties, including the NRM. We handed them over to the committee but they have not been included. I request this House that this debate is deferred ,†he said.
Lukwago said the issues that were not included were the involvement of the army in elections, the involvement of parties’ agents during monitoring, and the term limits.
Tempers flared when the NRM secretary general, Amama Mbabazi, said the proposals were not binding to the committee. “We debated the proposals. Some were accepted, while others were rejected,†he said.
This prompted members to ask him whether the NRM was still part of the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue, under which the proposals were made.
Government Chief Whip Daudi Migereko argued that not all amendments presented to the committee could be included in the report.
Information and national guidance minister Kabakumba Masiko was booed when she said the debate should proceed because there was limited time.
Speaker Edward Ssekandi’s proposal that the amendments be considered at the committee stage was also opposed, forcing him to postpone the debate.
The Bills, tabled in December last year, seek to prohibit candidates and their agents from contributing to fundraising and giving out donations during campaigns.
Candidates or their agents in breach of the law will be fined sh960,000 or sent to prison for two years or both.
The Bills further provide for the EC to declare a candidate elected unopposed if his sole rival withdraws or is disqualified.