The former Deputy speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga has been elected the Speaker of the 9th parliament. Kadaga the NRM candidate secured 302 votes while her competition, FDC’s Nandala Mafabi secured 57 votes and 2 were invalid. 361 MPs participated in the election while 14 missed the election.
Rebecca Kadaga
Kadaga afew minutes later took an oath as the Speaker of the 9th Parliament and was given the instruments of powers. Among the things given to Kadaga is the constitution and, rules of procedure of Parliament.
Voting was by secret ballot and was presided over by the chief justice Benjamin Odoki. He also went on to administer the swearing in of the speaker.
Odoki congratulated Kadaga and wished her well. He also commended the outgoing Speaker Edward Kiwanuka Sekandi saying that he has played his role commendably.
Odoki says that an election has been free and fair but called upon the speaker to be a listening Speaker to all people in the August house.
Kadaga in her first address to the house promised to be a Speaker of all the members without segregation. She appealed to MPs to undertake diligently their duties since a lot is expected from them.
Kadaga also pledged to continue bridging the gap between parliament and the public. She says that the space in the Parliament building is limited but called upon members to bear with the Parliamentary Commission as they try to accommodate the increased numbers of 375 MPs.
Kadaga is the first woman in Uganda to be elected Speaker of parliament. This makes her the 2nd woman to be among the top three important Ugandan officials, being that the Speaker is the 3rd most important person in Uganda’s protocol, after the president and Vice President. Specioza Wandera Kazibwe is so far the only woman to serve as Vice President in Uganda.
Kadaga has promised to give more attention to women issues and ensure more equity in parliament and government’s programs.
Also see
Rebecca Kadaga profile on Wikipeda
By Isaac Senabulya, Ultimate Media