MPs draft Bill to restore presidential term limits

By Joyce Namutebi and Paul Kiwuuwa          
    
A group of Members of Parliament across the political divide have drafted a Bill to re- introduce presidential term limits into the national constitution.

The MPs Wednesday met the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga in her office at Parliament and notified her about their intention to move a motion, seeking leave of Parliament to introduce a private member's Bill for restoration of presidential term limits, and other related matters.

They asked her to grant them space on the order paper to present the motion on the floor of Parliament.

The movers contend that there is need to restore term limits into the constitution saying they "help leadership and authority rotate amongst people and improves on the system of checks and balances and counteract the primordial mentality of holding power in perpetuity and eventually eliminates the prospects of a life presidency."

  The move is being spearheaded by Youth MP (western) Gerald Karuhanga (indep) and seconded by Sam Otada (Indep), Abdi  Chemaswet (NRM),Hussein Kyanjo (Jeema), Alice Alaso (FDC) and Monicah Amoding (NRM). The MPs addressed a press conference at Parliament buildings after meeting Kadaga.

Under the Constitution Amendment (Restoration of Presidential Term limits) Bill, 2013, the MPs are proposing amendment of Article 105 (2) of the constitution to say that a person shall not be elected under this constitution to hold office as president for more than two terms.

They are proposing a new clause, 2a to say that "A bill for an Act of Parliament seeking to amend this clause and clause 2 of this article shall not be taken as passed unless it is supported at the second and third readings in Parliament by not less than four-fifths of all Members of Parliament."

 The presidential term limits were lifted from the constitution in 2005.

In their draft motion Karuhanga stated that "The framers of the Constitution clearly and with foresight provided for presidential term limits before the limits were regrettably removed from the Constitution in 2005."

He also pointed out that the presidential term limits mitigate the control of the military, electoral commission, media, courts of justice and state finances by incumbents. He also pointed out that term limits are consistent with the current constitutional practice among the other partner states of the East African Community.

Otada said: "In 1995, during the referendum, Ugandans agreed that restoration of two presidential term limits, however in 2005 some MPs ‘caused treason’ when they amended the constitution to lift a ban on term limits."

He added that the African union recently ratified that all the 54 African countries should embrace term limits; therefore Uganda being a member state of the African Union should ratify this. "Tanzania, Ghana among the nations that have embraced the presidential term limits."

Chemaswet said, "By restoration of term limits, we shall have peaceful transfer of power from one leader to another.

Amoding said "It is high time that the young generation hold responsible the people who removed the term limits from the constitution.  We want to leave a legacy that will be remembered by our predecessors that we restored the presidential term limits in the constitution,"