The National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) Opposition party has called for a national referendum to consider the proposal of electing the President through Parliament.
The call was made by the NEED Party President Joseph Kiiza Kabuleta at party headquarters at Lubaga, Kampala amidst the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao’s move to introduce electoral reforms seeking to allow the President to be elected by Parliament, rather than the open vote by all Ugandans above 118 years which undermines the democratic principles and the will of the people.
Kabuleta is worried that a President elected by Parliament might be less accountable to the common people.
Mao has proposed electoral reforms that would allow Parliament to elect the President, which Kabuleta says requires a national referendum to make a final resolution.
Meanwhile, Kabuleta has further appealed to all opposition parties to refocus and reject the proposal of electing the President through Parliament, emphasizing that the approach denies citizens their fundamental right to directly choose their leader through the ballot box.
This comes on the backdrop of more calls being made especially by Opposition politicians for electoral reforms to be introduced and debated in Parliament ahead of the next general elections in 2026.
By Charles Katabalwa
23rd Sept 2024
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