The Member of Parliament for Mityana South, Hon. Richard Lumu, has finally tabled the long awaited Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to alter the mode of selection of the Leader of Opposition and other positions reserved for the Opposition in Parliament.
Lumu belongs to the Democratic Party (DP), one of the Opposition parties in Parliament. He presented the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2024 during the plenary sitting presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, on Tuesday, 01 October 2024.
Lumu was granted leave of Parliament to bring the Bill, a requirement in the House rules, during the regional plenary sittings held in Gulu City on 29th August 2024.
The Bill seeks to amend the Administration of Parliament Act, Cap.272 to alter the selection process of the Leader of the Opposition by allowing all members of the opposition in Parliament to participate in the process.
Currently, Section 8 of the Administration of Parliament Act, Cap. 272 provides for the election of Leader of the Opposition by the party in opposition to the government having the greatest numerical strength in Parliament.
However, according to Lumu’s bill, the law, in its current state, is silent on the composition of the electoral college.
“Currently the Leader of the Opposition is designated by the party with the highest numerical strength among opposition parties in Parliament and is simply imposed on the members of opposition in Parliament without their will and consent,” the Bill reads.
To achieve effective representation, Lumu wants the Leader of Opposition elected by all opposition MPs because he or she superintends all members of the opposition in Parliament and leaving the selection to the opposition party with numerical strength, would disadvantage other opposition parties.
“The current manner of election of Leader of the Opposition in Parliament has not only led to the suppression of the views of other opposition political parties in Parliament but also made it impossible for the members in opposition in Parliament to hold the Leader of the Opposition accountable,” the Bill reads.
The Bill also seeks to provide additional grounds upon which the LOP my cease to hold office; requires the Shadow Cabinet to be approved by members of the opposition parties in Parliament; and further requires the LOP to consult opposition political parties represented in Parliament when appointing chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of standing Committees of Parliament, among others.
The 11th Parliament comprises six opposition political parties namely; National Unity Platform (NUP), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP), Justice Forum (JEEMA), Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) and Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC). NUP boasts of the highest numerical strength with 57 Members of Parliament.
Hon. Denis Oguzu Lee (FDC, Maracha County) and Hon. Odria Alioni (NRM, Aringa South County) expressed frustrations with the presiding officer for delaying to clear their motions seeking leave to bring similar bills to amend the same Act.
Deputy Speaker, Tayebwa said their requests will be promptly cleared and the bills will be scheduled for first reading as soon as they are ready. Upon tabling, the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was referred to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for examination.
