Six incumbents retained as Parliament elects Uganda’s nine EALA MPs

Six incumbents from the NRM were retained as Uganda's representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly by Parliament an an election marred by allegations of vote rigging.

The Democratic Party's Secretary General, Gerald Siranda, was the only candidate who sailed through among the opposition parties, while two new legislators were chosen from the independent block, including two former NRM MPs: Veronica Kadogo Babirye and Jacqueline Amongin.

The main opposition party National Unity Platform did not field candidates in the election while candidates from other opposition parties such as FDC, JEEMA and UPC were unsuccessful.

The NRM representatives who kept their seats are: Rose Akol (422 Votes), James Kakooza (405 votes), Paul Musamali (401 votes), George Odongo (403 votes), the Dennis Namara (415 votes) and Mugyenyi Mary (367 votes).

Kadogo Babirye, a former woman MP for the Buyende district, received 383 votes, while Amongin, a former woman MP for the Ngora district and a representative of Uganda in the Pan African Parliament, received 338 votes. 233 people voted for Siranda.

Anita Among, the speaker, urged the MPs them to prioritise the needs of the nation over the interests of their political parties. She also requested that the newly elected MPs provide reports on EALA matters to Parliament so that they can be localised.

"I want to thank you honourable members for doing your noble duty of voting. From the speakers office, we want to thank you. We want to thank the members of EALA, you have been there for us," she said.

Earlier, the candidates campaigned, with each accorded seven minutes, in a chaotic session presided over by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa.

Akol, who garnered the highest votes said her priority will be to work together with her colleagues to accomplish the legal framework for the East African Community (EAC) Monetary Union.

“There are a lot of opportunities in the EAC but the biggest challenge is that there has been low financing for sensitisation process. We shall establish a sustainable funding mechanism to avail resources to carry on sensitisation,” Akol added.

Siranda pledged to be an embodiment of national unity and dialogue, saying that the EAC is about dialogue.

“I will be the engine for dialogue because in Arusha, our party is Uganda. Uganda requires a solid team that will defend the country. We will create EAC standby force to protect farmers and traders.

According to the EALA road map, by September, Parliament should have selected and gazetted Uganda's representatives to the Arusha-based Assembly.

Meanwhile, Among also announced a one-month recess for the MPs and urged members to use the last two weeks of the period to conduct oversight on the Parish Development Model (PDM).

“When you went to follow emyooga, emyooga changed and now it is better than any other programme. It is because of your oversight role,” Among said.

Additional reporting by Parliament