What if MK wins presidency but lacks majority in Parliament?

However, I also invite the readers to appreciate that FDC had less that 30 percent of the parliamentary seats.

I have argued elsewhere that Uganda’s Parliament can be characterised as a think tank (a centre of exchanging ideas) than a centre for groupthink caucusing.  

There are no special assigned roles or privileges for this or that particular party; save for the chairing of accountability committees. There is even no provision for the Speaker to come from this or that party; any MP qualifies to be elected Speaker. 

Think that is why NRM MPs have always been whipped ‘by fiat of the wallet’ into deploying majoritarian muscle to stampede Parliament.

This has made the NRM Parliamentary Caucus a very strong wing of the NRM (I am not sure whether the NRM Caucus is an official organ of the party structures). Our sense is that by 2026, the NRM Parliamentary Caucus will carry a very strong party voice.
 
There are  only two positions in Parliament assigned to specific political parties: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Head of Government Business (HoG). Both the HoG and LoP enjoy the statutory privileges of a Cabinet minister. I would prefer the LoP to designated Minority Leader and HoG to be Majority Leader.

Whereas the position of LoP is reserved for the party with the second biggest number of MPs, it is not clear whether the position of HoG is reserved for the party with majority MPs or the president’s party or left to the discretion of the president.

In the case of the 9th Parliament, the NRM had the President and majority in Parliament; with FDC coming a distant second. Mr Museveni (the NRM National chairperson and President of the republic) appointed the HoG. And Gen Mugisha Muntu, the FDC president general, appointed the LoP.

Mr Museveni’s party has always had majority seats in Parliament; a scenario that has always been subtly appreciated into the Ugandan political psyche. In most cases, legislations have always accommodated that scenario. Now, I wish one were to discount my lugeziggezi and allowed me to ask: what if Uganda were to have a president whose party has minority seats in Parliament?

In 2016, FDC claimed their candidate won the presidential elections and didn’t recognise Museveni’s presidency. However, FDC didn’t dispute NRM’s majority in parliament. What if Mr Museveni and his NRM conceded defeat and allowed the FDC presidential candidate to take power?

A group of lugezigezi people which adopted me as an observer had this debate: what if Gen MK (we assume all Ugandans now know a man called Gen MK) wins the presidency and lacks majority in Parliament?

Can the ubiquitous MK Movement first define itself either as a traditional political party in the mould of political parties in Western political democracies or a party of revolutionary activism that calls for sacrifices? 

Even then, can Gen MK comprehend that at the end of the day, tactical actions must feed into broader strategic objectives? Can the MK Movement adopt the idea of organising party structures and sponsor candidates to win elections?

Now, the ultimate question: Is the Gen MK 2026 Candidature still on cards?

Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]