Uganda told to pick members early

Kampala. Uganda has been advised to elect its representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) earlier this time around in order to avoid a repeat of the 2011 scenario when the country elected them late.

The late election of the MPs made it impossible for the regional assembly to sit for close to six months.

The appeal was made by Eala Speaker Daniel Kidega and lawmaker from Uganda during a formal visit to the Uganda Parliament where he held discussions with the latter’s Speaker Rebecca Kadaga.

He said, all East African Community (EAC) partner states should pick their representatives to the regional Parliament much earlier before the inauguration of the Fourth Assembly in early June this year when the tenure of the Third Assembly will come to an end.

Under the EAC Treaty, the National Assembly of each partner state is entitled to elect - not from amongst its members - nine representatives to the regional body.

The Treaty requires that Eala members represent as much as it is feasible, the various political parties represented in each country’s National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups.

Mr Kidega’s tenure as the Speaker ends in June as he is not eligible for re-election as Eala member having served for a maximum of two five-year terms from 2007.

He said during a visit to the Uganda Parliament that Eala MPs ought to be elected by second week of March. He was not categorical if the time frame was only meant for Uganda

Last week Uganda Parliament voted to scrap the provisions of party consensus in the consideration for elections for the members.

The amendment, which was passed on Thursday, provides for the accommodation of special interest groups in compliance with demands of the Equal Opportunity Commission.