In May this year, former Bufumbira Member of Parliament Eddie Kwizera petitioned the Constitution Court challenging the legality of the election of over 83 MPs in the August House.
In his petition filed by his lawyer Wandera Ogalo, Kwizera alleged that Parliament illegally created the seats with help of some Electoral Commission officials by a resolution, and not an Act of Parliament as provided by the law. Kwizera called this impunity, and demanded that these MPs be thrown out of Parliament for they held the seats illegally.
Today, the Constitution Court presided over by five justices unanimously decided to nullify the election results of six MPs namely; Asuman Basalirwa (Bugiri, Jeema), Elioda Tumwesigye (Sheema, NRM), Patrick Ochan (Apac, UPC), Abraham Lokii (Kotido, NRM), Tarsis Rwaburindore (Ibanda, NRM) and Hashim Sulaiman (Nebbi, NRM), on grounds that they were voted in Constituencies that under law, do not exit.
“In the circumstances of this petition, the elections that were conducted in the six municipalities are not elections envisaged in the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005,” the judges ruled.
In their ruling, the judges said that a mere creation of a municipality does not warranty a vacancy in Parliament and that these MPs were neither voted in a general election or a by-election, for all the 20 existing constituencies had been filled in the 2016 general elections.
“Under article 81 (2) where a vacancy exists in Parliament, a by-election will be held within 60 days after a vacancy has occurred provided it is not less than after six months from the conclusion of general elections. No vacancy had occurred because as noted above, all 20 existing constituencies had been represented in the 2016 general elections,” the judges said.
The panel of five judges that delivered this judgement included Justices Alphonse Owiny Dollo, Kenneth Kakuru, Cheborion Barishaki, Fredrick Engonda-Ntende and Christopher Madrama, and they contended that the affected MPs can only be elected to Parliament in the coming 2021 general elections.