Members who attended the meeting that ended close to 8;30 pm, told URN that although there were proposals that the members spend the night at State House, Entebbe to finalize the matter, many suggested that the meeting be moved to 8 am on Sunday so that both the candidates for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker can be agreed upon.
With a few days left to the Election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the two camps of Kamuli Woman MP Rebecca Kadaga and Omoro County MP Jacob Oulanyah are optimistic for a win.
The Bugabula South MP Maurice Kibalya, a team leader of the Kadaga campaign efforts, says that team Oulanyah has been campaigning and CEC has been quiet, but now that Kadaga has launched her campaigns, which is gaining ground, they are being stopped. He has now warned that if any CEC member speaks out in support of any candidate openly, they will resume their campaigns.
Rebecca Kadaga, the Kamuli Woman Member of Parliament has today launched her bid for a third term as Speaker of Parliament with at least 100 Members of Parliament backing her.
According to Mike Mukula, the Eastern NRM Regional Vice-chairperson says the CEC mostly considers loyalty and interest of the party when picking a Speaker. He says this is what determines who will work in consideration of the interests of the appointing authority.
Kadaga polled 6,776 votes against Namuganza’s 3,882 votes to retain her seat. In the aftermath of her victory, Kadaga praised NRM voters for enduring intimidation from state agencies to vote for her, adding that she was particularly proud of the ministers and members of parliament who stood by her amidst threats by Ruth Nankabirwa.
On several occasions, Kadaga has summoned ministers and given the government an ultimatum on when they should act or give a response. She has equally spoken out on government inconsistencies and declined to approve government proposals for borrowing.
Oulanyah also told the President and the party members that despite suffering insults for implementing the NRM’s party ideology, he has remained steadfast and is working to bridge the disconnect between CEC and the lower cadres of the party.
Members of Parliament have today thrown their weight behind the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga as she contests for Second National Chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).