By JOINT REPORT The East African
In Summary
Besides Tanzania, which is reviewing its Constitution, and
Kenya, where the opposition Cord and a section of Governors are separately
calling for a referendum, the focus is on the supreme law in Uganda, Rwanda and
Burundi.
To change or not to change the Constitution? That is the
question in all the five East African Community member states. Besides Tanzania, which is reviewing its Constitution, and
Kenya, where the opposition Cord and a section of Governors are separately calling
for a referendum, the focus is on the supreme law in Uganda, Rwanda and
Burundi.
In Uganda, Western
Youth MP Gerald Karuhanga and the Centre for Constitutional Governance
lobby last year started drumming up support for restoration of presidential term
limits, dropped from the Constitution a few years ago.
Mr Karuhanga handed Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga a
motion to table a Private Member’s Bill to restore term limits but the Bill is
yet to find space on parliament’s Order Paper. He says several MPs, including
those who voted for the removal of term limits, support him.
It now remains to be seen how this will be played out since,
in 2005, MPs were induced with cash payments to vote for the removal of term
limits, for paving the way for a possible life presidency for Yoweri Kaguta
Museveni. In Burundi, a push to change the Constitution to enable
President Pierre Nkurunziza run for a third term when the elections are held
next year remains ambiguous.
In March, the National Assembly rejected the revised
constitution that the president had submitted for adoption. However, the
statement from the president’s office said the presidential term issue was not
part of the draft constitution and that the Arusha Agreement that gave
President Nkurunziza two terms was intact.
In Rwanda, President Paul Kagame early last year encouraged
his Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) party members to start debate on “a transition
formula,” a move that was interpreted by some as the beginning of possible
constitutional amendments to enable him to seek a third term in office.
Reported by Fred Oluoch, Julius Barigaba, Emmanuel
Rutayisire, Edmund Kagire, Christopher Kidanka and Havyarimana Moses
