By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
A proposal put forth by Richard Lumu Kizito, the member of parliament for Mityana South county, has ignited a firestorm of opposition from key political players. Lumu’s suggestion that opposition members of parliament should elect the Leader of Opposition in Parliament and Opposition Chief Whip was met with fierce resistance from opposition political parties, who swiftly and unequivocally rejected the idea.
Last week on Thursday, during Northern regional parliamentary sitting in Gulu City, parliament granted Lumu permission to present a Private Member’s Bill 2024, which seeks to change the process by electing both the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Opposition Whip through a vote among Opposition Members of Parliament.
However, the idea has been unequivocally rejected by the political parties on opposition side stating that it was moved in bad faith.
John Kikonyogo, Spokesperson of FDC said at a media engagement on Monday (September 2) that bill undermines democratic principles and gives a lee way to the ruling government to suppress opposition politics in the country. He added that the legislation is not anywhere in the commonwealth parliamentary practice where Uganda is a signatory member.
“The amendment will potentially lead to a divisive and chaotic process with the opposition ranks both in parliament and at a political party level which will give the ruling party a leverage to ferment hostility within the opposition over the leadership of opposition in parliament,” said Kikonyogo.
If Lumu’s proposed Bill is passed into a law, the next Leader of the Opposition in Parliament will be elected by Opposition MPs in the August House, rather than being nominated by the leading opposition party as per the current tradition. The FDC however argues that electing the LOP by MPs means that the views of opposition will be unfairly represented because the elected LOP would no longer be accountable to the parties, but MPs.
“The arrangement disempowers political parties in choosing and ensure control and influence over its members in parliament,” said Kikonyogo.
On the other hand, the National Unity Platform Party has attributed Lumu’s move to frequent calls for accountability from members of the public. NUP said they will not be sidetracked by this development and will maintain their focus on their core party objectives.
Additionally, the FDC highlighted possible challenges likely to face opposition politics in Uganda after passing the bill including exacerbating internal political conflicts, threats to opposition unity among others. The FDC leadership argued that Lumu should have first consulted all parties in the opposition to seek their input before moving the motion.
“We call upon the leading opposition leadership in parliament led by NUP to offer leadership and mobilize the opposition political parties and key stakeholders to block this very redundant amendment. We call for opposition unity as we pursue this battle where the NRM regime intends to assert its control over the opposition in parliament,” said Kikonyogo.
As FDC, Kikonyogo added, “we strongly oppose the amendment moved by Hon. Lumu, believing it’s driven by bad faith and aims to disempower opposition political parties institutions. We support maintaining the status quo.”
