The National Resistance Movement has said that the race for the speakership between incumbent Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga and deputy Jacob Oulanyah will again be decided when the caucus sits to determine whom to front.
The comments were made by the party’s Vice Chairman for Buganda Region Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi on a TV talkshow.
Kiwanda said that before Kadaga was voted as a speaker in 2011, the party sat and agreed that her rival Oulanyah take a 10-year wait.
“Jacob Oulanyah wanted to contest speakership in the 10th parliament but we sat as NRM and agreed that he waits just like Rebecca Kadaga waited for Edward Ssekandi for 10 years and we would discuss what next later,” Kiwanda said.
Kiwanda said that the party will front and support their candidate fully, but confirmed they have not yet made a choice on the candidate at the moment.
“We shall support our candidate, but as of now we have no one,” he said.
Kiwanda castigated Members of Parliament over what he termed as “unnecessary discussion” of speaker politics on the floor of parliament.
“There is already a speaker at the moment, the discussion was very unnecessary,” Kiwanda claimed.
Kiwanda’s words were an echo of the statements made by Government Chief whip Ruth Nankabirwa who while addressing parliament last week stated that Kadaga was made speaker after CEC asked Oulanyah to step down and wait for his turn.
Kadaga in an interview in 2016 asked the NRM to be consistent with the rules and give her 10 years as a speaker like her predecessor Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi.
