Proposed constitutional amendments and why they failed to impress

After months of outcry from the opposition and Civil Society organisations, the government on April 30 finally tabled the Constitutional Amendment Bill in parliament.

While the opposition and civil society had eyes on electoral reforms, the Bill has only one or two clauses about them. The over 40 proposals that the reform activists under their umbrella organisations, namely; the National Consultation on Free and Fair Elections, the Inter Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) and the Citizens’ Coalition on Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) proposed, were all ignored. Instead, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Kahinda Otafiire tabled six amendments on renaming the Electoral Comminssion, tweaking the retirement age for judges, and revising the status of the Inspectorate of Government. The Leader of Opposition in Parliament Wafula Oguttu appeared stunned by the development. He immediately asked Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah whether opposition could table a separate Bill to cater for the demands of Ugandans.  Oulanyah dodged the bullet and promised to first consult and return with an answer. The reactions outside parliament varied from long yawns, to contemplative looks, and shrugging shoulders. Nobody is cheering.

Amendment 1: Changing the Electoral commission

The Bill seeks to amend Article 60 of the Constitution to change the name of the Electoral Commission to the “Independent Electoral Commission”. This, the government says, is to recognise the Independence of the Electoral Commission and to enable Parliament to prescribe the composition of the commission.

The stakeholders in their proposals had asked for the overhaul of the entire EC, for an open recruitment of the commissioners, and for their tenure to be one 7-year non-renewable term. The reformers proposal was that the recruitment of the EC chairperson, the deputy, and commissioners be appointed with the participation of the public through the Judicial Service Commission.

The reactions:

Crispy Kaheeru  (CCEDO)

Citizens’ Coalition on Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) Coordinator Crispy Kaheeru says that Ugandans did not ask for a mere change of name of the EC.  They wanted a changing in its fundamentals. He says change of name of the Commission to ‘Independent Electoral Commission’ is welcome but should be further reflected in the broader issues.

“From my reading of the Bill,” said Kaheru, “it looks like the system to appoint the Commissioners remains the same, in other words, the President appoints and Parliament does the requisite vetting and approval.”

Kaheru says the reformers wanted the EC to reflect the diverse skills and social demographics necessary to ensure impartiality in managing the electoral processes.

“The proposed amendments in the Bill do not adequately insulate the Commission from some of the existing external pulls and pressures that it faces.” Kaheru said.  Kaheru said the few changes, including providing for a tribunal which President Museveni will consult before firing a member of the commission, are good.

Read more