Parliament of Uganda

The unicameral Parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body.

Parliament of Uganda
bunge la Uganda
Tenth Parliament
Type
Type
Structure
Seats426
Political groups
Government (293)

Opposition (57)

Others

Elections
Last election
18 February 2016
Meeting place
Parliament Avenue, Kampala
Website
www.parliament.go.ug
Uganda
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The most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws which will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer to the people's representatives on the floor of the house. Through the various parliamentary committees, parliament scrutinises government programmes, particularly as outlined in the State of the Nation address by the president. The fiscal issues of the government, such as taxation and loans need the sanction of the parliament, after appropriate debate.[1]

Composition

The Ugandan parliament is composed of 238 constituency representatives, 112 district woman representatives, ten Uganda People's Defence Force representatives, five representatives of the youth, five representatives of persons with disabilities, five representatives of workers, and thirteen ex officio members.[2]

History

The Ugandan parliament was established in 1962, soon after the country's independence.[3]

First Parliament (1962–1963)

This body was then known as the Legislative Council (LEGCO). It had 92 members and was presided over, as speaker, by Sir John Bowes Griffin, a British lawyer and former Ugandan Chief Justice.

Second Parliament (1963–1971)

During this period, Prime Minister Milton Obote abrogated the constitution and declared himself President of Uganda in 1966. This parliament also witnessed the abolition of Uganda's traditional kingdoms and the declaration of Uganda as a republic. The speaker during the Second Parliament was Narendra M. Patel, a Ugandan of Indian descent. This parliament ended when Idi Amin overthrew Milton Obote's government in January 1971.

Third Parliament (1979–1980)

Following the overthrow of Idi Amin in April 1979, a new legislative body known as the Uganda Legislative Council was established. With an initial membership of 30, the membership was later increased to 120. This was the Third Parliament and was chaired by Professor Edward Rugumayo. This legislative body continued to function until the general elections of December 1980.

Fourth Parliament (1980–1985)

This period marked the return to power of Milton Obote and the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), following the disputed national elections of 1980. The speaker of the Fourth Parliament was Francis Butagira, a Harvard-trained lawyer. the Fourth Parliament ended when General Bazillio Okello overthrew Obote and the UPC government in 1985.

Fifth Parliament (1986–1996)

Known as the National Resistance Council (NRC), the Fifth Parliament was established following the end of the Ugandan 1981-1985 guerrilla war. Starting with 38 historical members of the National Resistance Movement and National Resistance Army, the legislative body was gradually expanded to include representatives from around the country. The speaker during the Fifth Parliament was Yoweri Museveni, who also concurrently served as the President of Uganda.

Sixth Parliament (1996–2001)

The Sixth Parliament was constituted during one-party rule (NRM). James Wapakhabulo served as speaker from 1996 until 1998. From 1998 until 2001, Francis Ayume, a member of Parliament from Koboko District, served as speaker.

Seventh Parliament (2001–2006)

The Seventh Parliament was presided over as Speaker by Edward Ssekandi. The most controversial legislation passed during this period was the amendment of the constitution to remove presidential term limits.

Eighth Parliament (2006–2011)
See also: List of members of the eighth Parliament of Uganda

This was a continuation of the Seventh Parliament, with Edward Ssekandi as speaker and Rebecca Kadaga as deputy speaker.

Party Constituency Women Appointed Total
seats
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
National Resistance Movement1415814213
Forum for Democratic Change2710037
Uganda People's Congress9009
Democratic Party8008
Conservative Party1001
Justice Forum1001
Independents2811140
Uganda People's Defence Force Representatives––––––1010
Total2157925319
Registered voters/turnout10,450,78868––––
Source: IPU

Ninth Parliament (2011–2016)
See also: List of members of the ninth Parliament of Uganda

The Ninth Parliament was presided over by Rebecca Kadaga as speaker, and Jacob Oulanyah as deputy speaker.

Party Constituency Women Appointed Total
seats		 +/–
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
National Resistance Movement3,883,20949.221643,803,60851.568613263+50
Forum for Democratic Change1,070,10913.56231,242,21816.8411034–3
Democratic Party476,4156.0411325,6604.411012+4
Uganda People's Congress265,5683.377237,4773.223010+1
Justice Forum50,1200.64110,7960.150010
Conservative Party48,2760.6111,0840.010010
Uganda Federal Alliance23,5850.30034,3460.47000–
People's Progressive Party15,6920.20026,3200.36000–
Forum for Integrity in Leadership8,8710.110–––00–
Social Democratic Party5,6640.070–––00–
Popular People's Democracy3,3990.040–––00–
People's Development Party2,5260.0301,8530.03000–
Liberal Democratic Transparency2,0350.0303,9970.05000–
Green Partisan Party2970.000–––00–
Uganda Economic Party2070.000–––00–
Independents2,034,25025.78301,689,38922.9011243+3
Uganda People's Defence Force––––––10100
Vacant––1––––1–
Total7,890,2231002387,376,74910011225375+56
Source: Election Passport, UC

Tenth Parliament (2016–present)
See also: Ugandan general election, 2016 and List of members of the tenth Parliament of Uganda

In the Tenth Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga and Jacob Oulanyah remained in their posts as speaker and deputy speaker respectively.

Party Votes % Seats
Direct Women Special Total +/–
National Resistance Movement1998410293+30
Forum for Democratic Change297036+2
Democratic Party132015+3
Uganda People's Congress4206–4
Independents4417566+23
Uganda People's Defence Force––––10100
Invalid/blank votes––––––
Total28911225426+51
Registered voters/turnout15,277,198–––––
Source: EC

2017 Parliament fight

On September 27, 2017, a fight ensued during a legislative session of the Ugandan parliament. The legislation in discussion at the time was to remove the presidential age limit of 75 from the Ugandan constitution. Following accusations from the parliamentary speaker against certain lawmakers in the chamber of disorderly conduct, a full-fledged fight broke out in which chairs were thrown, microphone stands used as clubs, and eventual removal of some members by plain clothes security officers.[4]

gollark: HelloBoi has returned none are safe
gollark: <@213674115700097025> wrong.
gollark: It could be profitable and/or it could lead to everyone complaining.
gollark: Sure, yes.
gollark: That seems odd. He doesn't really seem like he wants to randomly be very evil for no reason.

See also

References
  1. "Functions of The Parliament of Uganda". The Parliament of Uganda. Archived from the original on 2012-04-19.
  2. "Composition of Uganda's Parliament". The Parliament of Uganda. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  3. "Chronology of the Parliaments of Uganda".
  4. AP Archive. "Fighting in parliament as Uganda ejects MPs". YouTube. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
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