The Embattled commissioner of parliament Mathias Mpuuga has on Wednesday July 10th 2024 announced plans to push for constitutional amendment reforms before the 2026 general elections.
Addressing journalists at Parliament, Mpuuga emphasized the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the constitution, focusing on parliamentary and electoral reforms.
Mpuuga, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nyendo Mukungwe, revealed that he has received numerous proposals from citizens since his thanksgiving ceremony in Masaka, suggesting the establishment of a bicameral parliament consisting of a lower parliament and an upper senate.
The lower parliament would represent the majority, while the senate would comprise a smaller number of representatives, approximately 39 MPs.
He also seeks amendments to the composition of the Electoral Commission, as well as legislation on the transition of power.
This task, he said, was the centre of the numerous consultative meetings with political leaders and other stakeholders recently.
“We need wide-ranging constitutional and electoral reforms,” he said.
“That is why I have been meeting all these stakeholders. I have spoken to colleagues in parliament; those in the NRM, and independents and we are gearing up to a forum of MPs, and civil society to engender a wide-ranging debate on constitutional and electoral reforms.”
The Nyendo-Mukungwe legislator says one of the aims of the reforms is to change the look of Uganda’s parliament.
He says there have been more voices coming out about the need to reduce the parliament’s size as it is deemed too big.
“Even when I was still LOP I talked about these reforms including those to reduce the size of parliament to rhyme with the size of the economy and ensure that we have a sizeable purposeful parliament,” Mpuuga said.
“I am going to be leading an onslaught in parliament. I have spoken to other party platforms so we can join hands.”
Additionally, Mpuuga advocates for a proportional representation system in parliament, where the number of representatives would be determined by the population size of each demographic group.
He emphasized that the youth, being the majority, should have more representatives in parliament. Mpuuga also called for the removal of army representatives’ seats in parliament.
This move is seen as a significant attempt to reform Uganda’s political landscape.
