Uganda’s new parliament speaker and affirmative action
Anita Among was voted as Uganda’s parliament speaker on 22 March following the death of her predecessor Jacob Oulanyah that month. Among is the second woman to hold the position after Rebecca Kadaga who served from 2011 to 2021 and is now a deputy prime minister. Both women have risen to the top through affirmative action – as part of woman MPs specially elected to represent districts and cities in the country. On this note, Among’s election illustrates gains in political representation, notwithstanding the hegemony of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) under President Yoweri Museveni’s control.
Significance – Separation of powers
About one-third of MPs in Uganda are women largely due to affirmative action set in the constitution. The parliament includes 146 district woman representatives and city woman representatives. These include ex-speaker Kadaga and current speaker Among, who is Bukedea District Woman MP. Among’s progression is especially significant given she has only been in the ruling NRM for two years and an MP for six years.
The developments that led to Among’s election demonstrate how the allocation of political authority, including for women, is subject to President Museveni’s approval.
Among’s late predecessor Oulanyah emerged as speaker in 2020 after a fallout between Museveni and Kadaga. Kadaga had been speaker for a decade and had played a key role in the 2017 constitutional amendments that lifted the presidential age limit and allowed 77-year-old Museveni to run for a sixth term. However, she subsequently clashed with the president on issues relating to the separation of powers, and her rising political stock began to threaten the president’s supremacy. Controlled by Museveni, the NRM’s Central Executive Committee then withdrew its support for Kadaga and chose Oulanyah to succeed her with Among as deputy speaker. Kadaga was relegated to a deputy prime minister in Museveni’s cabinet and the relatively inexperienced Among has now been elevated to speaker – reflecting the president’s tendency to appoint senior government figures with incommensurate political and technical experience (See: Uganda’s Museveni picks a cabinet he intends to shepherd).
Meanwhile, the ruling NRM’s predominance in the political system is unchanged even though its share of parliamentary seats dipped after the 2021 general elections. It presently has 61% of seats in parliament and about two-thirds of district/city woman MPs are from the party. This hegemony draws politicians seeking a route to the top government positions. For example, Among and her present deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa are former members of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change.
Outlook – Deferential legislature
Museveni used a ‘Jesus and fishermen’ analogy to describe the dynamic between himself and his ministers when he set up his cabinet in June 2021. This analogy also applies to the current parliamentary leaders. By choosing Among and Tayebwa to lead the parliament, the president has set the background for a deferential legislature to operate. The speaker will likely avoid friction and the direction of lawmaking and oversight under her leadership will depend on Museveni.
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Photo credit: Anita Among, Uganda parliament