Human rights defenders, represented by a lawyer and civil society organizations (CSOs), have submitted a plea to the Constitutional Court, urging the immediate expulsion of city women representatives from parliament. They argue that the presence of these lawmakers, categorized under special interest group representation, violates Ugandan law and lacks a legitimate legislative role.
In the petition filed on Tuesday, lawyer Peter Magelah Gwayaka and two CSOs, Alliance for Finance Monitoring and Walezi Wa Katiba Foundation, contest the constitutionality of city women representatives occupying parliamentary seats. They assert that the creation of additional constituencies out of cities by parliament and the electoral commission in 2020, more than a year after the publication of the national population census in March 2016, contradicts constitutional provisions.
The petitioners maintain that municipalities, established under the Local Governments Act for administrative and service delivery purposes, were not intended for representation in parliament. Consequently, they seek an order to halt Uganda’s electoral body from conducting elections for city women representatives.
In a sworn statement, Henry Muguzi, the executive director of Alliance for Finance Monitoring, emphasizes that the constitution explicitly refers to one woman representative per district, not per city. He argues that conducting elections for city women representatives without amending the Parliamentary Elections Act to accommodate a city representative is null and void, as it violates constitutional principles.
The case is awaiting summons for the accused parties, including the Attorney General and Uganda’s Electoral Commission, to file their defenses within seven days. Failure to appear may result in judgment being rendered in absentia.
