KYANKWANZI RETREAT: Among tells incoming MPs to support seven-year term for political offices

KYANKWANZI, Uganda — Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has revived a proposal to extend the term of office for all political leaders in Uganda from five to seven years.

During a closed-door interaction with newly elected lawmakers at the National Leadership Institute, Among noted that Article 77 of the Constitution grants Parliament the mandate to prescribe its own tenure. She suggested that the 12th Parliament, which takes office in May, should move to align Uganda with other regional neighbors that have longer political terms.

The Parliament of Uganda is a creature of the Constitution of Uganda as per Article 77, Among told the legislators. This is what gives us the mandate, prescribes the composition, the functions and the tenure of five years. I know when you come to Parliament, you will think of changing from five to seven years like other countries and the ayes will have it.

Among, who also serves as the second national vice chairperson for the National Resistance Movement, argued that such an extension is not alien to the East African Community. Currently, Rwanda is the only member of the regional bloc that maintains a seven-year tenure for political leaders.

When laws come, please pass them so long as you have support from the president, she said. We are going to have a much better Parliament than ever before.

This is not the first time such a move has been attempted. In 2017, during the constitutional amendment process, lawmakers approved a similar extension. However, the Constitutional Court nullified the decision, ruling that extending the tenure without a referendum breached the contract between voters and their representatives.

A similar proposal was floated in 2021 by the parliamentary legal committee but was ultimately blocked following accusations that the provision had been smuggled into a committee report.

Analysts suggest the revival of the debate may be a tactical move to secure support from the incoming cohort of legislators. Robert Kigongo, a political analyst, said the speaker likely understands that few lawmakers would decline an opportunity to extend their own terms.

If the idea is embraced it will be selfish, unpatriotic and a major setback to the rule of law, the 1995 Constitution and democracy, Kigongo said.

It remains unclear whether the proposal will be included in the final resolutions of the weeklong retreat, which is scheduled to conclude April 15.