Former East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) aspirant Mugerwa Abdallar Hamtono has petitioned Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, protesting the Clerk to Parliament’s decision to reject his nomination papers.
Mugerwa, who sought to represent Uganda at the regional assembly, argues that the refusal to receive his nomination denied him the opportunity to participate in a lawful electoral process.
“I protest the unlawful and procedurally irregular conduct of the Clerk to Parliament in refusing to receive my nomination papers for election to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA),” he said.
He further faulted what he described as the approval of two National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates without subjecting them to a vote of Parliament.
According to Mugerwa, the actions violated the constitutional and treaty-based mandate of Members of Parliament to elect Uganda’s representatives to EALA through a transparent and competitive process.
He cited Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, which requires that EALA representatives be elected by the National Assembly from nominees presented by political parties, special interest groups and other stakeholders in line with democratic principles.
Mugerwa also referenced a landmark ruling by the East African Court of Justice in Democratic Party and Mukasa Fred Mbidde v Secretary General of the East African Community and Attorney General of Uganda (2012), which affirmed that Uganda’s EALA election procedures must reflect political diversity and adhere to democratic standards.
In that ruling, the court directed Uganda to align its parliamentary rules with the treaty and barred the conduct of elections that do not meet the required legal threshold.
“The objective is to ensure that elections are real contests conducted by Parliament rather than mere endorsements of predetermined nominees,” Mugerwa said.
He argued that by declining to receive his nomination papers, the Clerk exceeded her administrative mandate and interfered with a process that should be determined by Parliament.
Mugerwa is now seeking Parliament’s intervention to declare the Clerk’s decision null and void, review and set aside the approval of the two NRM candidates, and compel the House to conduct a fresh EALA election in compliance with the Constitution, parliamentary rules and the EAC Treaty
The petition adds to growing scrutiny over Uganda’s process of electing representatives to the regional legislative assembly.
