{UAH} Come to Uganda and be an MP times seven… (You can count that high, right?)

Come to Uganda and be an MP times seven… (You can count that high, right?)

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22 2018

     

In Uganda one could become an MP times seven in the same House. ILLUSTRATION | JOHN NYAGAH | NMG 

In Summary

• What the Hon Tumwesigye, who is a Cabinet minister and a sitting MP for Sheema North constituency, has done (run and win the MP seat for Sheema Municipality) is to expose the weakness of the country's electoral laws. Many especially in the opposition attacked him, calling him greedy, but he must be thanked for this exposure.

By JOACHIM BUWEMBO
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Uganda scored a first this past week by electing to parliament a man who was already an MP in the same parliament representing another constituency.

Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, who is a Cabinet minister, was sitting MP for Sheema North constituency when another opening arose.

Some six municipalities were recently accorded constituency status and Sheema Municipality, in Sheema North, was one of them.

As sitting MP for Sheema North, the medical man threw his hat into the ring for the municipality as well without giving up his parliamentary seat. He campaigned on the ruling party ticket and won!

Apparently, there was nothing in the law to stop him from standing. Satisfied with his victory, he left it to parliament and the electoral commission to declare one of the two seats vacant, the assumption by most being that it is the old constituency that will be declared vacant.

But suppose the double MP (actually triple because anybody appointed as minister automatically becomes an MP) decided he wanted to keep the old constituency and not the new one? Again the law is silent, what the learned brothers call a lacuna.

But this being Uganda, suppose the Sheema district woman MP's seat suddenly fell vacant, and the triple MP happened to be a woman, what would stop her from bidding for it as well, and winning? That would give her four seats.

In politically over-represented Uganda, we have seats at district level that are only for women. So the district woman MP represents people who are already represented by their MPs in constituencies that used to correspond to counties.

Now suppose the quadruple MP happened to be youthful and she vied for the youth seat in her region. (We also have such seats, which is how we got 456 MPs, almost the same number as India whose population is 34 times larger than that of Uganda.)

On becoming MP times five, our person learns of a vacant workers' seat and being a worker, she vies for it and wins. She becomes elected MP five times for the same house plus MP by ministerial appointment.

Four of the six seats would of course be declared vacant but if there is nothing to stop her, she continues and stands for another seat, for the disabled.

How disabled is disabled, according to the law? She could be having a limp, or get a doctor to certify that she has a disability that is invisible to the naked eye. So she could become MP times seven in the same House.

What the Hon Tumwesigye has done is to expose the weakness of the country's electoral laws. Many especially in the opposition attacked him, calling him greedy, but he must be thanked for this exposure.

He has also exposed the lack of seriousness of those who were tasked to review the electoral regime after the 2016 petition against the president's election, following the Supreme Court's directive to the effect.

For example, there are many by-elections that arise out of malpractice by candidates. But surprisingly, the candidates who engage in the criminal acts that lead to vote cancellation are allowed to stand again in the by-election. Common sense wouldn't allow that but our peculiar electoral system does.

Joachim Buwembo is a social and political commentator based in Kampala.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

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"I want first-time offenders to think of their appearance in my courtroom as the second-worst experience of their lives … circumcision being the first." Judge Judy

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