Betty Aol was appointed as minority leader — FDC

Aug 05, 2018

Winnie Kiiza was on Friday dropped as Leader of Opposition in Parliament for the Gulu Woman MP

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has said it appointed Gulu Municipality MP Betty Aol as the leader of the minority in Parliament and not Leader of Opposition (LoP).

Section 6B (1) of the Administration of Parliament Act (2006), provides for the election of the Leader of Opposition from an opposition party with the greatest numerical strength.

The FDC has 37 MPs out of 58 opposition seats.

"The message behind the decision to appoint a leader of minority is to continue reminding everybody that for us in FDC, we think there must be a majority and minority leader.

We hope that matter will be dealt with if there is going to be any constitutional review but even if it does not, we will continue addressing the leader in Parliament as a minority leader," Ssemujju said.

During his campaigns for FDC presidency in November last year, Patrick Amuriat repeatedly said it was wrong for the party led by Mugisha Muntu to appoint an opposition leadership in Parliament since he contends Kizza Besigye won the 2016 presidential election.

But speaking after he was declared winner, Amuriat said FDC MPs are a great asset to the party and therefore they must forge a good working relationship as each of them does their work.

Kadaga inquires

Speaking during the second sitting of the first session of the 10th Parliament shortly before President Yoweri Museveni's State of the Nation Address in May 2016, the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga asked FDC to clarify on the Leader of Opposition.  

Kadaga said that when she wrote to FDC inquiring who they intended to name, the party secretary general, Nandala Mafabi, replied indicating that they had appointed Kasese Woman MP Winifred Kizza as the leader of the minority in Parliament.

"However, I have noted that neither in the Constitution of Uganda nor the Administration of Parliament Act or in our Rules of Procedure do we have leader of the minority," she added.

Former Serere Woman MP and deputy FDC president for eastern region, Alice Alaso, echoed Kadaga's views.

"The leader of minority in Parliament is not provided for in the Constitution, in the Administration of Parliament Act or in the Rules of Procedure. So I think the FDC is trying to behave like an ostrich. They are naming the leader of opposition but they want to pretend that they are not naming the leader of opposition therefore they are naming a minority leader. They did this when Kiiza had been appointed by Muntu to undercut the appointment and embarrass the appointing authority," she said.

Asked what the party would do if Kadaga again rejected the appointment of leader of the minority in Parliament, Ssemujju said: "I know the legal requirements certainly will have to be met, but we will continue addressing her as minority leader. We do not care if you call her leader of opposition or not."  

The Leader of Opposition enjoys ministerial privileges, including chairing the opposition Shadow Cabinet, guiding the opposition during parliamentary debates and presiding over their meetings.

They are also entitled to a well-furnished office, support staff and Police escorts.

The LoP is also entitled to a big budget to pay staff and to run other office errands and hefty package of allowance since they are members of the parliamentary commission.

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