NRM, NUP reject MP Lumu Bill seeking to elect LoP
he NRM’s Director of Legal Affairs, Mr Enoch Barata, appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on October 15, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Prior to the NRM presentation, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party leadership dismissed the proposal law, saying that the Bill was crafted in bad spirit, with the aim of removing the current LoP, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, from his post.
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has joined Opposition parties in opposing the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2024 that seeks to have the Leader of Opposition (LoP) elected by Opposition lawmakers.
The NRM’s Director of Legal Affairs, Mr Enoch Barata, told the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee that the Bill undermines the provisions of the law meant to empower the main Opposition party.
“The spirit of the law is that the party that achieves the biggest number of the popular vote forms the government. It is that same spirit that says that the other party that achieves the next highest vote selects the LoP. So there is a popular vote to it and you cannot purport to take that away,” Mr Barata said.
In a rejoinder, the NRM Secretary General, Mr Richard Todwong, reasoned that the current legal provision should be sustained because the NRM believes “it is better to deal with an organised Opposition.”
Prior to the NRM presentation, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party leadership dismissed the proposal law, saying that the Bill was crafted in bad spirit, with the aim of removing the current LoP, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, from his post.
“The timing and context of the amendment indicates bad faith. It is public knowledge that the current leadership of Parliament has engaged in a pattern of hostility and antagonism against the current LoP,” NUP’s Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya said.
He added: “Ssenyonyi hasn’t been invited or allowed to attend any Parliamentary Commission meeting and so we ask ourselves, why now? Why not before?
We think there is bad faith suddenly and the current LoP is being targeted through this law.”
Last week, the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) also rejected the Bill.
The Bill was prepared by the Mityana South MP Richard Lumu .
