UGANDA. NRM Lawyers Unveil Bill To Push Elections To 2021

The proposed legislation which was drafted in secrecy was finally presented to media on Friday by the ruling National Resistance Movement party lawyers at the National Theatre.

Inside it`s roadmap is tabling in tabling in parliament for the first reading between March 1, 2014 to March 30.

Titled, The Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Council Extension Bill, 2014, was rolled out by lawyers Tiberius Mukwaya and Joseph Musinguzi who cite loopholes that should be addressed for Uganda to experience a free and fair elections.

"Uganda is currently undergoing a democratic path to make it a better country from where it is now. This is based on the historical events that have happened but most importantly with the 1986 regime that has helped to make Uganda a stable and secure country. However, in 2005, Uganda underwent a multi-party system of governance. The Political governance issues that are very much handled by parliament and the executive are still weak hence a need to avail time to harmonize all existing loopholes in Uganda`s institutions as panacea to have free and fair elections," reads part of the Bill.

Recently, Chimpreports broke the story of NRM planning to push the 2016 elections of both presidential, parliamentary and local council elections by five years.

The bill was previously with only seven clauses and now one clause has been added to it.

Clause 4 of this new Bill discusses the National Electoral Restructuring Committee which shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, a representative of Civil Society Organizations and other four members whom shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament.

Functions :

Clause 5 points out the functions of the National Restructuring Committee which include :

 To come up with electoral reforms that cope with the current E.A.C member country

 To sensitize the public about the need for the electoral reforms in Uganda and political extension

 To vet members who will compose the electoral commission and forward names to the President for appointment

Clause 6 discusses the tenure for the National Electoral Restructuring Committee (NERC) which will be 5 years, while clause 7 examines remuneration for the Committee members that will directly from the consolidated fund.

The Bill is likely to touch off a firestorm in Parliament considering that opposition leaders had intensified mobilisation at grassroots level to acquire power in 2016.

It would also give President Museveni and his government five more years in power without elections.

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