[Ugnet] Time Running Out for Uganda Transition...and Movementisim too..

MEMBERS OF the political opposition in Uganda are working to avert what they say is a brewing political crisis as the time runs out for transition to a multiparty system.

Members of Parliament opposed to the Movement system, who number only 81 in the 304-strong parliament, are lobbying the Speaker of the House, Edward Ssekandi, to avert a build-up of political tension by speeding up the transition from single-party rule to a multiparty system.

The date proposed in 2004 in the roadmap was April 2005, by which time the laws that restrict political parties were to have been amended appropriately. But it is only two months to April and not a single constitutional amendment has been effected to let parties operate.

Between February and April, parliament will have to debate and make changes to 119 constitutional provisions to effect the transition. But the Bill is yet to be tabled for debate, while campaigns for the next elections are slated to start later in the year.

Opposition MPs are asking the Speaker to abandon the 119 proposals, when they come up for debate, and focus on lifting the ban on parties and amending the Police Act, which bars political rallies, and the Referendum Act.

Under the political roadmap, the referendum to determine the political system to be followed was supposed to take place in February. But officials of the Electoral Commission said they were not sure when the referendum would take place as they were waiting for parliament and for funds. The exercise requires up to $19 million to accomplish.

It is these three Acts that bar political parties from operating freely, oppositionists say. The rest of the changes, they say, are not that urgent and can be tackled by a different government and parliament.

The 119 proposed changes have been lumped together in what has been termed the "Omnibus Bill." The chairman of the Parliamentary Rules Committee, Ben Wacha, characterised the inclusion of the Land Act, the powers of the courts and the debate on the president's powers over parliament in the transition debate as a "blindfold."

"These are not urgent matters. They are not even important to the transition, but have been brought in as a blindfold. This is a whole overhaul of the constitution; who needs that right now?

"I have a feeling that there is a deliberate move to slow down the process so that towards the end, things are done in a hurry. We have had this situation a number of times. We need not have a crisis because a lot of things that are contained in the White Paper are not things that need urgent review. We should focus only on those provisions that affect the transition from Movement to multiparty politics and leave the rest."

Parliament is on recess - in spite of criticism by the opposition that the Speaker should never have let the House go on holiday with so much on their plate - until February 1.

Some MPs say that they will not discuss the White Paper or any other business of parliament until the question of the transition has been settled.

Ken Lukyamuzi, the MP for Rubaga South in Kampala, told The EastAfrican, "Before we begin effective discussion work on the White Paper, we would like parliament to work on a roadmap."

In response, Ssekandi told The EastAfrican that April need not be seen as a deadline since it was only a suggestion by the government and not a legal requirement. He said he could not do anything because the Bill proposing these changes is yet to be tabled for debate.

"The best thing to do is to wait for the Bill to be presented," he said. "Before this is done, we are just speculating."

[Ugnet] Time Running Out for Uganda Transition...and Movementisim too..

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