Preparations for the swearing-in of over 500 MPs who will constitute the 11th parliament of the Republic of Uganda are in final stages -the spokesperson of parliament said.
The Acting Director Corporate and Public Affairs Helen Nanteza Kawesa said all is set for the MPs’ swearing in ceremony slated for Monday, 17th to 20th May.
The ceremonies will be held in the parking of parliament building and all MPs-elect will have to possess invitation cards in order to access the precincts of parliament.
The new MPs however will not have the luxury of fanfare and merry-making as they are required to be accompanied by only three people; with only one additional person as an aide for MPs with disabilities. The ceremony will strictly observe the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Hellen Kawesa says the ceremonies will start from 6:00am – 6:30pm with taking oath for each MP taking at-least 6-10 minutes. Administering of oaths is expected to be conducted by an officer of the Clerk to parliament.
She noted that each day, about 130 MPs are expected to be sworn-in and the events will follow the alphabetical order of names of MPs. “If any MP arrives late or misses the swearing in, he or she must inform the organizers and he or she will be accorded a second chance to take oath probably at the end of the day”
Throughout the week, MPs-elect have been picking invitation cards and bio-data forms which they were expected to return to parliament by May 14 or on the day of swearing in.
After swearing in, the MPs will vote for Speaker and Deputy Speaker on May 24 at Kololo Independence Grounds. President Yoweri Museveni is expected to attend this event.
Helen Kawesa says the election of the speaker of parliament will be a one-off (day) election for the two respective positions.
She says parliament opted for Kololo because of the numbers. “We cannot accommodate all the 500 plus MPs here at Parliament for the one day voting exercise. These are Covid-19 times”
There will be 529 seats in the 11th Parliament, compared to the 10th parliament that had 434 elected MPs plus 17 ex-official members, bringing the total number to 451.