Ugandan parliament rescinds limits to presidential term

KAMPALA – Uganda’s parliament on Tuesday abolished presidential term limits enshrined in the country’s constitution, sealing President Yoweri Museveni’s controversial bid to seek re-election next year.

The move came as Museveni kicked off a campaign for voters to repeal a ban he imposed on multi-party democracy nearly 20 years ago, a move critics claim is an attempt to camouflage his ambition to run again and effectively become president for life. By a 220 to 53 vote with two abstentions, lawmakers gave final approval to constitutional amendment that scraps a two-term limit for the country’s highest office, parliament spokesman Bernard Aceru said.”This means that now a president will be eligible to be voted (for) as many times as we want without any limitations,” he said.In a three-hour news conference that spanned the duration of parliament’s final consideration of the amendment, which was fiercely opposed by Uganda’s weak opposition, Museveni himself refused to speak on the matter.”Term limits have been examined by us and we are dealing with them,” he said, declining further comment.Adoption of the amendment had been widely expected since a large majority of lawmakers gave their assent to the change in a second reading of the bill last month, following clashes between opponents of Museveni and police in the capital.Opposition MPs have decried the move as a recipe for war in the impoverished east African nation which was devastated by years of conflict and misrule by two of the region’s most notorious despots: Idi Amin and Milton Obote.One said on Tuesday that the vote was a dark day for the people of Uganda, particularly in the north where a 19-year old war against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 1,6 million others.”It is very sad and creates a lot of uncertainty,” said opposition MP Omara Atubo.”It has been planned for years to entrench personal leadership of President Museveni and the vote increases the tragedy of the people opposing him.”The opposition has warned that allowing Museveni, who stormed to power in a 1986 coup but was then elected twice, to vie for another term in 2006 would spark anarchy as an incumbent would be impossible to replace without violence.Instead of discussing the amendment, Museveni used his news conference to urge Ugandans to vote “yes” in a referendum on July 28 on restoring political pluralism that critics say is merely a cover for a power grab.Museveni rejected claims that the referendum was aimed only at making his quest for a third term more palatable to international donors, who have complained of the slow pace of democratic reform in Uganda.- Nampa-AFPBy a 220 to 53 vote with two abstentions, lawmakers gave final approval to constitutional amendment that scraps a two-term limit for the country’s highest office, parliament spokesman Bernard Aceru said.”This means that now a president will be eligible to be voted (for) as many times as we want without any limitations,” he said.In a three-hour news conference that spanned the duration of parliament’s final consideration of the amendment, which was fiercely opposed by Uganda’s weak opposition, Museveni himself refused to speak on the matter.”Term limits have been examined by us and we are dealing with them,” he said, declining further comment.Adoption of the amendment had been widely expected since a large majority of lawmakers gave their assent to the change in a second reading of the bill last month, following clashes between opponents of Museveni and police in the capital.Opposition MPs have decried the move as a recipe for war in the impoverished east African nation which was devastated by years of conflict and misrule by two of the region’s most notorious despots: Idi Amin and Milton Obote.One said on Tuesday that the vote was a dark day for the people of Uganda, particularly in the north where a 19-year old war against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 1,6 million others.”It is very sad and creates a lot of uncertainty,” said opposition MP Omara Atubo.”It has been planned for years to entrench personal leadership of President Museveni and the vote increases the tragedy of the people opposing him.”The opposition has warned that allowing Museveni, who stormed to power in a 1986 coup but was then elected twice, to vie for another term in 2006 would spark anarchy as an incumbent would be impossible to replace without violence.Instead of discussing the amendment, Museveni used his news conference to urge Ugandans to vote “yes” in a referendum on July 28 on restoring political pluralism that critics say is merely a cover for a power grab.Museveni rejected claims that the referendum was aimed only at making his quest for a third term more palatable to international donors, who have complained of the slow pace of democratic reform in Uganda.- Nampa-AFP