Ssempebwa team rejects 'third term'
By Daniel K. Kalinaki
Nov 17, 2003
| KAMPALA - A commission set up to review the 1995 Constitution has rejected a Cabinet proposal to lift the two-term limit on the presidency.
According to documents and information available to The Monitor, the Constitutional Review Commission sat on October 3, and tore the Cabinet's arguments for the lifting of the term limits to shreds. "We have carefully considered all the arguments made in favour of indefinite eligibility to the office of the President," reads a section of the minutes from that CRC sitting. "We are not satisfied that enough justifications exist for removing the two-term limit."The commissioners then gave their reasons for rejecting the Cabinet proposal. The same report contains a list of recommendations made by the commission on political succession. The last recommendation in the list reads: "A person shall not be elected to hold office as President for more than two terms." The CRC is also expected to recommend that presidential and parliamentary elections be held on the same day. Gov't 'intervenes' A source that sits on the CRC told The Monitor yesterday that after the third term was rejected, there were attempts by "some people in government" to "force" the commissioners to change their stand on the third term. The source, who spoke to The Monitor on condition of anonymity, said he was approached "by someone high up in government" who spoke to him about "reconsidering my position on the term limits". The official told The Monitor he was convinced the same approach was used on fellow commissioners. The source told The Monitor that a few days later, the issue re-emerged in the CRC with some commissioners "who had actively opposed lifting the limits suddenly changing their stance and asking for it to be reviewed". The Monitor has learnt that a small group was selected to produce a document making a case for lifting the term limits - but that this document only served to split the members. "There was no agreement; some people said we could not discuss a common position and agree to it and then turn round and change our positions just like that," the source said. The source believes that "government chose to make our lives slightly uncomfortable" after the proposal to lift term limits was thrown out. He believes that the government's sudden reluctance to release money to the commission - and its willingness to extend the CRC's deadline of producing it report to December is one way of "putting pressure on us to change our position" while creating "enough time to change public opinion on the term limits", he said. The chairman of the CRC, Mr Frederick Ssempebwa, a former law professor, declined to comment when contacted. "I am not at liberty to discuss issues borne out of internal discussions," he told The Monitor. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ms Janat Mukwaya, said that she knew nothing about the alleged government interference. "I have not received any complaints from the chairperson or the secretary [of the review commission]," she told The Monitor by phone yesterday. "We don't need to cut money to pull strings. "Let the one who is making the claims put them in writing to me and then we will respond as government." The commissioners said: "Orderly succession to government is part of the democratic culture and necessary component in good governance. Participation is enhanced if leaders are elected, serve and go. "It is in pursuit of democracy and good governance that there exists a constitutional framework whereby leaders emerge, access power and leave power in an orderly manner". Full report in The Monitor tomorrow, and on our Web site at www.monitor.co.ug |
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
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