By HALIMA ABDALLAH

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How will Ugandans choose the president in the next elections?

Through a parliamentary electoral college, perhaps? This is one of the questions at the centre of meetings by the political opposition discussing candidature and electoral reforms.

In January, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Col (rtd) Kahinda Otafiire reported progress on electoral reforms as ordered by the Supreme Court in several election petition judgments.

He told parliament the necessary Bills have been prepared, but that the government wants to address all issues being proposed for amendment chronologically, starting with the Constitution.

“The deferred proposals for amendment of the Constitution since 2001 have accumulated over the years. There is a need to handle the proposals responsibly to bring the process to finality,” said Col Otafiire.

The EastAfrican has learnt that choice of voting a president by parliamentary electoral college, where a party with majority legislators in the House chooses the country’s leader, was one of the articles that were deferred in the 2001 constitutional amendment.

Other articles that were deferred but have since been handled include the 2017 constitutional amendment that removed the presidential age limit.

The proposal if tabled will place the opposition to up their game by securing more parliamentary seats and winning other elective positions in local government.

The ruling National Resistance Movement, boasts over 80 per cent of parliamentarians, has often had the numerical strength in parliament.

At its recent meeting, NRM showed it is ahead of the opposition with the Central Executive Committee endorsing President Yoweri Museveni — in power since 1986 — as the party’s sole candidate in the 2021 general elections.

Although the government is yet to table any electoral reform proposals, the opposition leaders, meeting secretly are readying to avoid surprises. For example a discussion on electoral college voting for president is on the table as well as picking a single opposition candidate, just in case there are no changes.

“We want a true representation. We want parliament to represent political spectrum because behind those MPs are voters. The electoral college system will also help strengthen political parties,” said Norbert Mao, Democratic Party president, who is one of those taking part in the secret talks.

Other are: Rtd Col Kiiza Besigye, Forum for Democratic Change party president, Patrick Amuriat Oboi, MP Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) Mugisha Muntu, president of the New Formation Party, and Asuman Basaliirwa, president of the Justice Forum Party.

The Uganda People’s Congress is yet to join the talks.

The Democratic Party for example, wants the leaders to adopt amendments to the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act to include a provision for proportional representation.

This requires that distribution of seats be broadly proportional to the distribution of the popular vote among competing political parties.

The amendments are however not expected until later. According to the Electoral Commission road map, all electoral reforms should be in place by the end of February to enable a smooth planning process.