Gomba West MP Robina Gureme Rwakoojo has launched her bid to stand for the office of the Deputy Speaker of the 11th Parliament.
Ms Rwakoojo will compete against six other candidates who include; West Budama North MP Jacob Oboth-Oboth, Bukedea Woman MP Anita Among, Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko, Ruhinda North MP Thomas Tayebwa, Theodore Ssekikubo, the Lwemiyaga County MP and State Minister for Finance David Bahati.
The election of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament is the first activity of the assembly after the administration of oaths for all people who will be gazetted by the Electoral Commission as winners of January 14, 2021 parliamentary elections.
According to Article 82 of the 1995 Constitution, the office of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament shall be elected by members of Parliament from among themselves.
Speaking at the launch of her campaigns, Ms Rwakoojo said; “I am the most qualified candidate seeking to occupy this position. Parliament is about legislation and I am the qualified individual with vast experience and legal background.”
“I have sat and debated in parliament and I find that parliamentary debates are lacking and therefore need to be improved by equipping MPs through capacity building both within and outside Uganda,” she said at Imperial Royale hotel.
Last week, the government chief whip in parliament who double as Kiboga woman MP, Ruth Nankabirwa said the central Executive Committee (CEC) of the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) will soon convene to deliberate on the issues pertaining who should be considered for the positions of the Deputy and the of Speaker parliament.
“We are in a multi-party dispensation; I am a royal cadre of national resistance movement (NRM) and I will obey to party decisions,” Ms Rwakoojo said.
She intends to equip MPs with various skills to enhance the quality of debate at the August house, improve the welfare of MPs and staff members of parliament and promotion of a good working relationship among the arms of government.
The Deputy and Speaker of Parliament are mandated to carry out a number of duties, and key among them include presiding at any sitting of the House, preserving order and decorum in the House and make pronouncements on questions of order and practice.
