The outgoing Speaker of the 10th Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has revealed the top leadership of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has no mandate whatsoever to decide who will lead the 11th Parliament of over 500 members.
The furious Kadaga made the revelation on Wednesday when she had gone to present her credentials at the NRM party’s electoral commission expressing interest to contest again for the position of Speaker.
She said that if the Central Executive Committee (CEC) cannot decide the President for the entire Uganda, it cannot also decide for members of Parliament on who to vote Speakership.
Kadaga’s reaction follows claims by her opponent Jacob Oulanyah’s supporters who claim that in 2016 CEC gave Kadaga a chance to lead the 10th Parliament and promised to give way for Oulanyah to lead the 11th Parliament in 2021.
However, according to Kadaga, CEC is too small to decide for the entire August House. She added that leading Parliament is far different from keeping cattle and it will be undemocratic for a few people to always decide who leads the majority.
“It will be undemocratic for the Central Executive Committee to sit five years early and say that in five years so and so will be our speaker. Why don’t we do that for the president? Every five years he comes and says there is an election. What do we do? You can’t determine, even in Kamuli district they cannot determine that [in five years so and so will be MP],” she said.
“So you can’t come and say for us (CEC) we decided on the speakership five years ago. Are you deciding for us like the way cattle are herded?”
Kadaga added that she attained her Speakership victory in 2016 through a decision that was made by MPs who were elected by Ugandans and it’s the same members who are going to decide whether she continues or she leave for others.
“I am their voice and I think you have heard the work we have done, for instance, we have the first daycare centre in the country, no other institution has a daycare centre. We have done that to help women in the parliament and the staff. We have conducted a number of those to support the families, I am their biggest voice,” Kadaga who has been MP for 10 years noted.
Elections for speaker and deputy speaker are slated for May 24 at Kololo ceremonial grounds following the swearing-in of 529 Members of Parliament.
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