The speakership of parliament has been left vacant after the untimely death of house speaker Hon. Jacob Oulanyah.
There is a scramble to fill the position. Rules of procedure state that the position of Speaker has to be filled within a limited amount of time and this has caused a stir in both Opposition and NRM members.
The law states that once the Office of the Speaker falls vacant, the only business required to take place at Parliament is the election of the Speaker.
According to Emmanuel Dombo, the Director of communications in the NRM, the President guided that in compliance with the law, Parliament must elect a Speaker on Friday in a cabinet meeting convened yesterday.
Today, 22nd March 2021, members of the NRM are picking up their forms of expression for the position.
The NRM EC kick starts the process of getting a flag bearer for the Speakership position.
Deputy Speaker Hon. Anita Among has expressed interest in the position today. Her personal assistant handed in her papers because she could not make it due to health reasons.
Hon Oboth Oboth, an independent has also expressed his interest in the position. Hon. Jacob Marksons Oboth commonly known as Jacob Oboth-Oboth is a Ugandan lawyer, intellectual property expert, and politician. He is the elected Member of Parliament for West Budama County South.
Opposition MP Ssemujju Nganda has also expressed interest in the position of Speaker of Parliament. in a statement made on one of the media houses, Nganda said he would offer himself for the position.
‘I hope we have a discussion with NRM to arrive at who becomes the Speaker of Parliament, so we don’t have a chaotic experience like we did last time. If they don’t accept, then I will offer myself for this position,’ said Nganda.
Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda continued to say that the speakership doesn’t need to be filled by a lawyer.
‘We don’t just need a lawyer to be the Speaker. We need someone who is empathetic and will take care of the MPs. We need to arrive at a consensus candidate to ensure harmony in Parliament,’ the Kira Municipality MP said.
There has been speculation that Rt. Hon. Kadaga Rebecca is interested in the position of speakership and Emmanuel Dombo addressed the issue.
‘I don’t know if Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga would want to take on the position (Speakership), but she qualifies for it. We shall just wait for the people who will express interest,’ said Dombo.
‘NRM is a very organized party with elaborate processes. As a party, our mechanisms were triggered once the President gave guidance on the vacancy of the Speaker. The process of expression of interest will run between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm today,’
However, Government Chief Whip Tayebwa Thomas says he has no intention of standing for the position of Speaker of Parliament. This he confirmed through his Twitter account.
Dr. Tanga Odoi advised that for now, no candidate should resign until CEC endorses them. That is the guidance we got. He requested NRM members to respect the decision of CEC saying that being a Speaker is not a do-or-die situation.
Jackson Kafuuzi Member of parliament for Kyegegwa has also expressed his intentions to stand for Speaker on the NRM flag. Kafuuzi who is also the Deputy Attorney General has said that should he beat Among in the Party Primary elections, he will resign from his current office.
Should Hon. Anita Among win the Speaker race, the office of the Deputy Speaker will fall vacant which will mean another election in the House. Lilian Aber, Woman Mp of Kitgum has expressed interest and vowed to run for Deputy Speaker should Anita Among become Speaker.
The question of who becomes the next Speaker will be in balance till Friday when the elections will take place in a sitting that is unprecedented. Jacob Oulanyah remains in the books of History as the first Ugandan Speaker that passed on while holding the office.
