A lawyer and two civil society organizations have petitioned the Constitutional Court, urging city women representatives to vacate their seats in parliament immediately, citing their perceived non-existent legislative role and alleged violation of Ugandan law.
The petitioners argue that the presence of city women lawmakers in parliament, categorized under special interest group representation, is unconstitutional.
Filed before the Constitutional Court, the petition alleges that the creation of 20 additional constituencies from cities by parliament and the electoral commission in 2020, more than a year after the national population census publication in March 2016, is inconsistent with constitutional provisions.
City lawyer Peter Magelah Gwayaka, along with Civil Society Organizations Alliance for Finance Monitoring and Walezi Wa Katiba Foundation, lodged the petition against the Attorney General and Uganda’s Electoral Commission.
The petitioners express grievances over municipalities, designated as local government administrative units, being treated as constituencies with parliamentary seats, which they argue is inconsistent with the constitution.
They seek an order prohibiting the electoral body from conducting elections for city women representatives, contending that the organization and execution of such elections without constitutional amendments violate the law.
Henry Muguzi, the executive director of Alliance for Finance Monitoring, states in a sworn statement that the constitution explicitly mentions one woman representative per district, not per city. He asserts that the intention of the constitution’s framers was clear regarding representation.
The Constitutional Court is yet to summon the accused parties to file their defenses, with a deadline of seven days from the date of service of the summons and petition.
Failure to appear may result in the case proceeding in the absence of the accused parties, with potential judgment issued against them.
