Kadaga Speakership a symbol of ideological continuity
TPF Team
Only a few days remaining for the first session of the 11th Parliament to convene and first on agenda legislators will cast their vote for the house Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively in a race where different both the ruling NRM and the opposition are slated to front candidates.
As parties with representation warm up to caucus and select flag bearers for the top legislative offices, the NRM, being a mass party is going through the most competitive experience as far as the Speakership seat is concerned since the the uganda metamorphosed into a multiparty democracy from the movement system.
Previously, the norm has been the CEC ( central executive committee), the top most organ of the party determining party candidates for the top seats and in all cases such has been the practice including in 2016 when the 10th parliament was selecting a Speaker. However, under the current environment, ugandans are watching a new classic NRM drama as Speaker Rt Hon Kadaga Rebecca and her deputy Rt hon Jacob Olanya have hit the field to converse support from the newly elected members of parliament who are just days to their swearing in.
A close and critical look at what is going on shows that regional and political alliances are beginning to form up, with Kadaga seemingly taking lead as most opposition Mps, like so many NRM and independent Mps are likely to fall to her wit. The Rt Hon Olanya on the other hand, riding on the fact that the north voted ‘wisely’ in the January Presidential elections and the informal 2016 gentleman’s agreement that having stepped down then would be guarantee for his annointing to full Speakership by the NRM;is also doing his best to woo Mps for support.
The silence of the NRM party on what is likely to be it’s official position on the matter has exercerbated the the situation and caused increased levels of competition, leading to both sides putting up a tough stance. As of today, most opinion polls by the mainstream media have placed Kadaga at an advantage over her Deputy although the latter has had heavy social media attention especially by NRM mobilisers seeking to be part of the game.
Kadaga has remained riding on her rich profile that stems from way back in 1986 when she was an outstanding female legal aid champion, to her efforts in the fight against female genital mutilation in the the sebei and Karamoja areas of North Eastern uganda, gender equity efforts and her political consistence in the NRM party. Other areas of advantage are her canning balanced character in dealing with the opposition in times of critical legislative sessions and the public approval she has gained over the years.
The other factor is the recently adopted approach by ugandans to embrace institutional and ideological continuity in making political decisions which determined the outcome of the Presidential elections in which the long serving His Excellency General Yoweri Museveni crushed his opponents and came out victorious. Kadaga too is not visitor to such an arena, as she in 2020 managed to win the NRM CEC National female Vice Chairperson seat which was hotly contested.
Going by these trends, it is greatly envisaged that Kadaga will certainly emerge winner of the Speakership for the 11th Parliament and should this be the case, ugandans and their legislators will have mastered the art of safeguarding their Nation through consistency, institutional and ideological continuity since both the Presidency and Speakership; the most critical offices in a democratic state will be occupied by consistent, and experienced personalities.
– thepeoplesfocus.com
