Prime
Parliament should be reduced to 100 MPs
Author: Asuman Bisiika. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- I recently read somewhere that another reform or constitutional amendment could be on the way. I hear this one is about the reduction of the number of parliamentary seats from about 500 to about 250. We support that but it’s not radical enough.
In 2005, the main political event was the CV (Constitutional Volongoto) that removed the two-term presidential limit. Since then, more reforms (constitutional amendments or other) have happened. But a keen observer would tell you that most of these reforms have always been intended to strengthen Mr Museveni’s political and administrative hand.
The lower end of these constitutional amendments or reforms was the removal of the 35-75 year presidential age limit in 2017. This exposed the Office of the President of Uganda to a teenager; and oh yes, it also exposed it to a 120 year geriatric.
I recently read somewhere that another reform or constitutional amendment could be on the way. I hear this one is about the reduction of the number of parliamentary seats from about 500 to about 250. We support that but it’s not radical enough.
On October 9 2019, Mzee Augustine Ruzindana published a Facebook post in which he said ‘Italy, with a population of 60.5 million, has reduced the number of MPs of the Lower House from 630 to 400 and the Senate from 315 to 200. This will save €81.6m per year.’
Mr Ruzindana then wondered whether this could be replicated in Uganda. Of course it can be done. Yes, Uganda can reduce the number of parliamentary seats. To radically reduce the size of parliament, we have two models for constituting a parliament. In general terms, these two models can be referred to as ‘numerical representation’ and ‘proportional representation’. In numerical representation, we fix the number of people to constitute a constituency for parliamentary representation. In proportional representation, we fix the number of seats in parliament and political parties share the seats based on the percentage of the total national votes in the general elections.
The numerical representation model (where say 500,000 people qualify as a constituency) has been overtaken by administrative units that inherently qualify to be represented in parliament. Whenever a district is created, parliament is increased by a minimum of two MPs.
Since population doesn’t seem to be one of the drivers for the creation of new districts, it would not be surprising to have MPs representing 30,000 people.And our NRM brothers (and sisters), in their eternal and fatalistic pursuit of regime survival, have reduced parliament (which was supposed to be the vortex of the democratic culture) to a mere appendage of the administrative function of the state (the Executive).
We therefore propose a parliament with 100 MPs; all of them nominated by political parties (in their internal elections). All political parties participating in the elections would offer or declare all their 100 MPs to the Electoral Commission as aspiring MPs. The Electoral Commission would then do a background check and declare them as candidates.
In the selection (or electing) of those candidates, political parties would be compelled to consider affirmative action for marginalised groups like women, workers, disabled, youth etc. The political parties would also make sure that all districts that existed as at April 11, 1979 (or January 26, 1986) at least has a minimum of one MP.
The leader of a political party participating in the elections would be among the 100 aspiring MPs for that particular political party. A party leader (or for that matter an independent presidential candidate) whose party gets 1percent of the total national vote automatically becomes an MP.
Political parties would then be the cortex of politics. A political party leader whose party wins more seats constitutes the government (but with the support of at least 51 MPs).
Mr Asuman Bisiika is the Executive Editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]
