The NRM caucus has unanimously rejected proposals by the opposition to share slots for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on a formula that would leave the ruling party with only four seats from the current seven they have been having.
Over 100 members of the caucus converged at the Conference Hall of Parliament from 6.30pm to 9pm on Thursday, to discuss a report of NRM representatives who were on Wednesday selected to negotiate with the opposition a way forward in the election for Ugandan representatives to the regional parliament. Uganda is only left with less than a month to elect its representatives before the swearing in on June 4 this year.
On Thursday, the opposition also met and made it clear that Article 50 of the East African treaty has to be followed. The Article provides for all political parties in parliament to have an EALA representative. The opposition members said they would push for each party to get a slot and then the remaining three seats would be distributed on an agreed formula.
But in the caucus chaired by Lands Minister Daudi Migereko and guided by Secretary General Amama Mbabazi, NRM MPs said they would use their majority numbers in the house to make sure they take at least six slots.
According to a source who attended the closed door meeting, Internal Affairs minister Hillary Onek and Soroti Municipality MP, Mike Mukula, said that they have been wasting a lot of time negotiating with the opposition whom they outnumber in the house and proposed that they bring nine names of candidates each and then use their numbers to vote for theirs in the house.
But Mbabazi is said to have rejected this proposal and instead advised that a dialogue was the better option. Mbabazi reportedly counseled the members not to think by negotiating they were being weak.
The Prime Minister went on to say that since the current stalemate is about a legal matter in the law, they should exhaust all the negotiations and resort to using their majority numbers when it comes to voting.
Kajara MP, Stephen Tashobya, suggested that when debate starts on Friday over the rules regarding the elections, the NRM side should suggest consensus to be used in taking the decision and when that fails then they resort to voting, eventually winning with their majority.
First Lady and Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Janet Museveni, told her colleagues that after all they were only sympathizing with and helping the opposition by giving them some slots at the regional parliament when they outnumber them in the house. She is reported to have suggested that the opposition should be given only three slots to share.
But Ngora Woman MP, Jacqueline Amongin and Bukhooli North MP Stephen Baka expressed fear that the decision they take in the caucus could lead to the opposition going to court and frustrating the whole election process. Amongin also suggested that there was no need to give Independents any of the slots.
She suggested that NRM should retain their seven slots that they have in the current EALA and leave the opposition to share two.
Mbabazi was reportedly equally concerned that any unfavorable decision they take could potentially cause the opposition to boycott the election and rendering it illegitimate.
But he said as a ruling party, the NRM has more interest in the regional parliament and cannot give the opposition more than three slots.
Given the current stand by the opposition to give each party a slot, it would mean that once Jeema, CP, FDC, DP and UPC each get one; the ruling party would be outnumbered in Arusha by the collective number of opposition representatives.
The Acting Whip, Daudi Migereko, told the caucus members to come in big numbers during the final debate on Friday and make sure they support the party’s position and take a decision.
Over 50 candidates are vying for the nine Ugandan slots in EALA, 30 of whom are from the NRM.
The NRM is now finding it hard to select who should make it to the few available slots, with quiet suggestions now being made to get 20 MPs to initially nominate an aspirant before he or she gets to the next stage.
The main debate is taking place at parliament.
