President Yoweri Museveni has said that having age limits for any elective office goes against Article 1 of the 1995 Constitution. According to Museveni, people should be allowed to vote for a person of their choice ‘through regular free and fair elections instead of being merely legalistic’.
In October Igara west MP Raphael Magyezi tabled age limit bill that is aimed at lifting the presidential age that is capped at 75 years as per the 1995 Constitution of Uganda. The bill was however referred to legal and parliamentary affairs committee for scrutiny.
And, addressing members of the legal and parliamentary affairs committee at State house Entebbe, Museveni, citing the example of one time United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill who was leader up to the age of 81, said ‘age is not an issue’, the major factor being one’s ability to lead the country.
“At this stage of development, limits (term and age limits) are not the most important issue for Uganda because the country has more pressing concerns,” the President, the most likely beneficiary of the age limit amendment bill, said.
Museveni, who has been in power for 31 years, also talked about scrutinizing the proposal to extend presidential terms of office from five to seven years.
