EU Ambassador HE Kristian Schmidt and Parliament Speaker Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga
In a move to call into question the ability of The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to provide tangible reforms ahead of the general elections scheduled for 2016, a European Union Delegation to Uganda met Parliament Speaker Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga. The delegation led by EU Ambassador HE Kristian Schmidt, on Friday June 5, 2015 discussed the proposed electoral reforms and the Non-Government Organisation Bill, 2015, which seeks “to provide a conducive and an enabling environment for the NGO sector.”
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that intends to amend the Constitution and change the name of the Electoral Commission (EC) to the Independent Electoral Commission; prescribes the procedure for the removal of its Commissioners; increase retirement age for judges and justices; and for related matters was questioned, with Ambassador Schmidt saying “We see this as a missed opportunity. The issue is becoming divisive with some sections of the public saying they’re not being taken seriously”. He added that “The (Bill) did not meet our expectations, but we are outsiders. The civil society, clergy and public made very good suggestions, which were ignored… the reforms presented are cosmetic.”
On the Bill giving powers to the President to appoint and dismiss Commissioners of the Electoral Commission the ambassador had this to say: “What we believe is the objective criteria in selection of Commissioners. They should be screened by the Judicial Service Commission or another independent body,” The delegation asked that enough time is given to the consideration of both the Constitution (Amendment) Bill and the NGO Bill in order to include a wide variety of views.
The Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Kadaga said that despite claims that the Bill presented by government was shallow, the Opposition MPs had not moved any Private Members Bill to reflect their wide ranging proposals on electoral reforms.
She also noted her disappoint that the Constitution (Amendment) Bill was presented towards the end of the 4th Session giving Parliament only a few months for its consideration. She said Parliament needed six months to properly study the Bill and that lack of quorum would affect its consideration. Hon. Kadaga however noted that civil society and political groups still have the opportunity to present their views on the Bill to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
The delegation also included the British High Commissioner, Alison Blackburne; Ambassador of Ireland, Donal Cronin; Domenico Fornara (Ambassador, Italy) and the Germany Ambassador, Peter Blomeyer.