Prime
Oulanyah death prompts call to amend Constitution
Deputy Speaker Anita Among pays her respects to the late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah at Parliament yesterday. She has declared her interest to succeed him. PHOTO / DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The scramble for the position has caused some tension in the House as several MPs express interest in occupying the third highest office of the land.
On Friday, Members of Parliament (MPs) will convene at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds to attend a sitting that will focus on electing a new Speaker.
The election follows the death of the incumbent, Mr Jacob Oulanyah, whose demise was announced on Sunday by President Museveni.
However, a section of legislators have expressed concern over the ongoing race for a new Speaker while the country is still absorbing the news of the Oulanyah’s passing.
The scramble for the position has caused some tension in the House as several MPs express interest in occupying the third highest office of the land.
“We are still mourning the Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah, so this is an insult to the people of Acholi Sub-region. When someone has just died, you keep quiet and mourn until they are buried,” Kilak South County MP Gilbert Olanya told Daily Monitor in an interview on Tuesday.
He added: “Members of Parliament are running around as if they are crazy. They won’t even sleep; they are busy running around to different hotels (to hold meetings to discuss candidature matters).”
Mr Olanya said they [Acholi MPs] are petitioning the President to cancel the election of a new Speaker for now, and instead have the Chief Justice preside over the sitting on the day Oulanyah’s body is brought to lie in State.
“If it continues this way, some of us may not participate in the voting exercise,” he added.
Mr Francis Zaake (Mityana MP) said: “We have not yet buried him and people are already jostling for his former job. I don’t agree with it (ongoing Speakership race) and think it is wrong.”
Ms Betty Aol Ocan, the Gulu City Woman MP, said the rush to elect a new Speaker could lead to the election of someone not suitable for the role.
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However, Mr Martin Ojara Mapenduzi (Bardege-Layibi Division, Gulu City) said although the Acholi people have been making suggestions that the election of a new Speaker be delayed until Oulanyah is buried, there is also the law to be considered.
“Parliament cannot sit without having a Speaker elected. This is according to the law (Constitution). So, yes, as much as we have our own feelings, there is also the provision of the law,” Mr Mapenduzi said.
He added: “Regardless, this should serve as a lesson to improve this law so that we don’t have a similar situation.”
Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda (Kira Municipality) said Parliament cannot afford the luxury of running without a Speaker in place.
“We have to get used to that. When a Speaker dies, then immediately, we choose another one because Parliament must continue functioning. These offices are too important to remain vacant even for 24 hours,” Mr Nganda said.
He, however, added that there should have been a provision (in the Constitution) that the Deputy Speaker takes over for the rest of the period (remaining term of the deceased).
Ms Cecilia Ogwal, the Dokolo District Woman MP, in a previous Daily Monitor interview said there was indeed an oversight in the 1993-1995 Constituent Assembly debates that the issue of a Speaker dying in office was not well addressed.
Oulanyah’s death and resulting vacancy, she said, now provided the government the opportunity to address the loophole in the Constitution.
The law
Article 82(4) provides that subject to Clause (4) of Article 81 of the Constitution, “no business shall be transacted in Parliament other than an election to the office of Speaker at any time that office is vacant”.
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Clause 4 of Article 81 relates to incoming lawmakers taking oaths of office, and of Member of Parliament, in order to be eligible to vote, and be voted, as Speaker.
