| News | July 14, 2005 |
|
| Kisanja big gamble - Church |
| Monitor Team |
The Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has described Parliaments decision on Tuesday to lift the two term limits on the presideny as a big gamble.
UJCC is an umbrella group of the major Christian denominations in Uganda.
The councils executive secretary, Rev. Can. Grace Kaiso, told Daily Monitor at his Old Kampala office that the Church was very sad and disappointed at the way the MPs voted Tuesday and hoped the legislators would have a change of heart as they vote on more clauses in the Constitution Amendment Bill.
This gives the impression that the MPs are not voting with our historical experience in mind, he said. The change of the Constitution is a gamble, he said, and our concern as the church is at what cost are we taking this gamble?
MPs on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to remove presidential term limits from the Constitution paving the way for president Museveni to contest in
next
years elections and beyond.
Rev. Can. Kaiso said the council had deeply considered the issue of lifting presidential term limits at their last three general meetings and we were persuaded to believe, in light of our historical experience and that of Africa generally, that Article 105 (2) should not be amended.
Our turbulent political history has tended to rotate around the presidency, in Africa the electoral processes have not been found effective enough to stop an incumbent from winning an election and the tendency for people to want to cling to power should be considered by our MPs before making that vote, Rev. Can. Kaiso said.
We feel we have lost the opportunity for leaders to uphold the aspirations of the people as enshrined in the constitution, he lamented. This position was also contained in a UJCC June 2005 newsletter entitled Lifting Term Limits, a National Gamble.
In a related development, His Eminence Emmanuel Cardinal Wamal
a says
his position on lifting presidential term limits is well known and he declined to comment on Tuesdays vote in Parliament.
I am not going to repeat myself, you know my personal opinion on this matter, he told Daily Monitor from his Rubaga office. The Cardinal came under fire from government circles when he came out to oppose lifting term limits.
Meanwhile, MPs from the opposition have vowed to fight on until the term limits are restored in the Constitution. Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri) said the opposition will not give up until the Constitution is restored in the shortest time possible.
Moris Latigo (Agago) said they have not lost everything because the population, which he said is the last and more powerful defence of democracy has not decided. 220 MPs voted in favour of lifting term limits; 53 opposed it while two abstained.
Martin Wandera (Workers) said they had not lost at all. We have exposed the folly and unseriousness of national leaders.
He
said the population will harass them if chaos sets in as a result of amending the Constitution to lift terms,
Political parties paint a sombre picture
FDC acting chairperson Ms Salaam Musumba said there are no more surprises whatever voting pattern Parliament adopts.
DP chief Paul Ssemogerere said the act by parliamentarians is deplorable.
UPCs Hajji Badru Wegulo said anything that Presidnet Museveni doesnt like cannot go through Parliament. | |
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