Parliamentary democracy is as critical as inclusive democracy and must therefore be treated with urgency before it goes beyond the lifeline of the intensive care unit and dies. Photographer: Luke Dray/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Uganda is among the 37 countries ranked highest among countries committed to democracy,” according to Afrobarometer’s 2024 report.
But Afrobarometer’s findings contradict the views of many democracy and political actors in Uganda.
Perhaps that’s an issue of data and Information integrity that research organisations must pay attention to to avoid losing good reputation, trust and credibility.
My focus is on how parliamentary democracy is deteriorating in the 11th parliament that is under-observed by international surveys, academia and the media.
The majority of surveys, reports and blogs don’t often rate parliamentary democracy, yet it is the bedrock of constitutionalism and good governance.
Parliamentary democracy is as critical as inclusive democracy and must therefore be treated with urgency before it goes beyond the lifeline of the intensive care unit and dies.
Each time I turn on the television, radio or media platforms, read blogs or listen to political dialogues there is drama and confusion in the 11th parliament consisting of 556 members.
These range from sanctions and corruption scandals, including the misappropriation of resources, to censure motions, the poor quality of debate, indiscriminate allotment of time for private members, the misinterpretation of the rules for procedures and ill-discipline.
The biggest threat to parliamentary democracy is how the executive arm of government led by the president is subduing legislature independence, which violates the doctrine of separation of powers.
For instance, the budget saga around the Appropriation Bill involved the president refusing to sign it off until his interests were taken care of.
All the above are inexcusable and undermine parliamentary democracy to the detriment of constitutionalism and accountable governance.
For example, I have watched a video of the speaker, Anita Annet Among, refusing to allow Yona Musinguzi, the MP of Ntungamo municipality, to speak and threatening to expose his private businesses outside parliament, which violates sub-rule 1 of the rules of procedures number 21.
Denying a representative of the people the right to speak defies the meaning of the Latin word “parle” — to talk — that defines the fundamental principle and genesis of the parliamentary system.
Benjamin Franklin once noted: “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
In democratic countries such as South Africa and Kenya, MPs from different parties debate freely, squaring up ideas and challenging the speaker; that’s how parliamentary democracy flourishes.
A parliamentary democracy is based on a political party system that consists of a ruling party and opposition parties, which offers a good governance opportunity because there is scope for people to reflect their wishes, concerns and grievances through their elected representatives.
Now, imagine your representative being muted or opting to stay mute or absconding from plenary sessions and committees.
Constitutionally, the opposition is charged with a duty to question the government of the day and hold it accountable. But guess what happens in Uganda?
Because of political compromise, inexperience and the spread of fear by speaker Among’s vindictive wrath — such as that experienced by MP Zaake Francis Mutebi and Minister Persis Namuganza — legislators have lost courage and freeness to talk and instead resort to silence and absenteeism.
A few courageous and eloquent MPs, such as Betty Nambooze, Lutamaguzi Ssemakula, Derrick Nyeko and Barnabas Tinkasimire, have been seen talking to journalists in parliament’s corridors.
What shocks the public the most is that even the senators are mute during debates on the floor.
In the absence of parliamentary democracy, the majority of Ugandan legislators have lost the integrity and ethics to advance the interests of the marginalised electorate.
Something must be done to liberate MPs from the fear to reclaim their voices.
Sometimes Jimmy Spire Ssentongo uses X (formerly Twitter) to share cartoons that capture those ridiculous parliamentary moments.
The most recent abuse of parliamentary democracy occurred when the speaker Among individually robbed a unanimous decision on a vote.
It’s also obvious that because of the Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) effect in the 2021 elections the electorate presented many of his National Unity Platform political novices, you could assume after two years they have gained confidence to debate, understand the rules of procedures and the Constitution.
The National Resistance Movement (NRM), through its party parliamentary caucus, is gagging the freeness of MPs to debate and this cramps parliamentary democracy.
Legislators of the ruling NRM who deviate from the party line have been accused of being rebels.
Parliamentary democracy in Uganda is in need of a lifeline but it is not yet dead. The public acknowledgment of a worsening situation in parliament by legislators such as Theodore Ssekikubo, Jonathan Odur, Joel Ssenyonyi and Patrick Nsamba Oshabe is an indication of the need for scrutiny and reforms.
The live broadcasting of plenary sessions is a sign of transparency and accountability but it needs enhancement through information about the laws.
Women, youth, workers and people with disabilities reflect inclusivity, a pillar of parliamentary democracy. Kabuye Frank Kibirige is 25 years old, making him the youngest legislator in Africa.
The successful attempt to foster cross-party collaboration is reflected in the parliamentary committees and joint sports activities.
Providing each legislator with an iPad is a gesture towards leveraging technology to facilitate robust decision-making in the legislative arm of government.
Political theorist and economist Harold Laski said: “Men who are to live together peacefully must be able to argue together peacefully.” To enhance parliamentary democracy, the speaker must allow diverse views and constructive criticism.
As citizens we are duty bound to defend and protect parliamentary democracy, the cornerstone of good governance through participation.
For example, the Uganda parliamentary exhibition on X not only exposed gross corruption and the abuse of office but increased citizen’s participation in parliamentary affairs.
We need to educate citizens about the role of parliament instead of pressuring legislators for humanitarian aid.
Collaboratively and collectively we must safeguard the doctrine of separation of powers; that no single arm of government dictates to another.
For checks and balances, we must enact independent oversight and implement global benchmarks as is done in countries where parliamentary democracy is flourishing.
To achieve parliamentary democracy we need constitutional and electoral reforms reducing the size of parliament, forensic audits, resetting the rules of procedures, human resource restructuring, media literacy and capacity building programmes to enable legislators to think critically.
Dear legislators, your silence is too loud. Stand up, speak up and be counted as a MP who didn’t fiddle away at the time as parliamentary democracy deteriorated.
Robert Kigongo is a democracy deliverer and a sustainable development analyst.