Opposition Activists Call For Constitutional Electoral Reforms

By Gad Masereka

Together with academics and rights activists, representatives from opposition political parties are urging Ugandans to utilize their rights in order to bring about the constitution’s and the electoral rules’ much-needed amendments. These findings came from a two-day consultative meeting that took place at Speke Resort Munyonyo and ended on Friday.

The Office of the Leader of Opposition (LOP) in Parliament, headed by Mathias Mpuuga, planned the high-level gathering. President of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and former contender for president in the 2021 elections Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, commonly known as Bobi Wine, reminded Ugandans that President Yoweri Museveni and his family have hijacked the people’s authority to control the country.

Kyagulanyi compared Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s rule to that of late President Idi Amin in 1973, when he ruled with terror. He compared it to a military dictatorship that destroyed democracy, abused human rights, and degraded public institutions.

At the meeting, Dr. Kiiza Besigye, a four-time candidate for president and former leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, also spoke. He noted that although the citizens should hold the reins of power, Museveni and his family have assumed that role and now rule over all state institutions.

Dr. Kiiza brought up the “Black Mamba” military assault on the high court in November 2005, where he and 14 other defendants were facing treason accusations. Dr. Kiiza reminded the nation of this incident. He also mentioned the Special Forces Command’s (SFC) September 27, 2017, attack of Parliament. At that time, lawmakers were attacked by the SFC, President Museveni’s special guard, which was led by his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Professor of law Joe Onyango-Oloka of Makerere University underlined that for constitutional revisions to be genuine and helpful for all those seeking change, Ugandans must confront the legacy of military rule in the nation.

Uganda’s constitutional reform debate has been contentious and even violent. A member of parliament introduced the Constitution Amendment Bill in 2019 with the goal of, among other things, removing army participation from Parliament, restoring presidential term limits, and limiting the number of ministers. The bill, however, lost its validity when the 10th Parliament’s term came to an end.

Political parties would be permitted to contest presidential elections, the Uganda Police Force would become the Uganda Police Service, the Resident District Commissioners (RDC) and Prime Minister offices would be abolished, the Judicial Service Commission would be involved in the selection of members of the Electoral Commission, and a panel of Speakers would be established.

The Attorney General withdrew earlier attempts by the administration to introduce constitutional amendments on land acquisition due to the fierce opposition they experienced. The administration is being pressured by the opposition to approve quick changes to the Constitution and electoral regulations in order to level the political playing field. The opposition is now asking for widespread citizen sensitization to preserve their rights, as provided for in Article 1 of the Constitution.

They also emphasized the fact that President Museveni currently possesses total authority and uses the military to deny Ugandans their legal rights.