Current Affairs

AGE LIMIT: Yes 317, No 97

By Joseph Lubandi

Posted on December 20, 2017

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Minister Mary Karooro Okurut during debate earlier. PHOTO @parliament_ug

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Constitution Amendment Bill 2017 has passed the Second reading with the requried two-thirds majority. The vote result was 317 YES, 97 NO.

For the vote to be carried, it required two thirds which is 289 of 434 MPs.

The House has already started considering clause by clause of the report at committee stage before a vote is taken at the third reading for it to pass into law.

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Earlier, lawyers of the suspended six MPs, led by shadow attorney general Wilfred Nuwagaba, have this afternoon attempted to enter parliament to give notice to the Speaker and Attorney General to appear before the High Court today.

The six MPs are protesting the legality of the decision by the Speaker to suspend them from the ongoing constitution ammendment bill. The suspended MPs are Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, Allan Ssewanyana, Gerald Karuhanga, Jonathan Odur, Anthony Akol and Mubarak Manyangwa.

They lawyers were blocked at the gates of Parliament, with MPs Medard Ssegona and Nuwagaba who had the papers to serve the Speaker, detained by police.

Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana said one can’t serve court orders in the precinct of parliament.

Soon after, Speaker Kadaga suspended the house for 30 minutes to 2.15pm when roll call and vote on the different sections of the Constitution Amendment bill report started.

Among the several proposed amendments, is lifting Article 102(b) of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda – to remove the age limits (35 – 75) for presidential candidates. That is why the bill has been dubbed the “Age Limit” bill.

Report on the Uganda Constitution Amendment(No.2) Bill, 2017 by The Independent Magazine on Scribd

Constitution Amendment No. 2 Bill 2017 by The Independent Magazine on Scribd