AMPALA – The Constitutional Court has heard a petition filed by the Alliance for Finance Monitoring, Walezi Wa Katiba Foundation, and advocate Peter Magelah Gwayaka, challenging the constitutionality of City Woman Representatives and Members of Parliament representing Municipalities.
According to Michael Aboneka, counsel for the petitioners, his clients are challenging four key issues: the constitutionality of the 10 Women City Representatives in Parliament, arguing that the Constitution only provides for Women District MPs; the creation of 12 municipalities before the 2024 census, citing Article 63, which requires demographic changes to be made within 12 months after the census publication; the potential implications of creating constituencies for each municipality, questioning whether this would lead to an overly large Parliament; and the argument that the creation of municipalities is for local government purposes and should not automatically grant representation in Parliament.
As Michael Aboneka explained, “Article 78(1) (c) of the Constitution provides that Parliament shall consist of—one-woman representative for every district and that Article 176 provides for the local government system which includes a district, town council, sub-county and other administrative units such as a Municipality.”
He further noted that “Article 181 (3) provides that the electoral areas will be demarcated and ensure that town councils, sub-county, municipality or its equivalent is represented in the district council,” and “Article 207 defines a local government to include a district council, urban council, sub-county council or any other unit prescribed by law to replace the district, urban and sub county councils.”
Henry Muguzi, CEO of the Alliance for Finance Monitoring, said that they have over the last five years expressed concerns over the rising cost of politics, which has imposed a burden on not only politically elected leaders themselves but also on the taxpayer.
“One of our key motivations is to alleviate the burden on taxpayers, given the significant cost of remunerating members of parliament,” he said. “At a time when the country is overburdened and there’s a pressing need to reduce public administration expenditure, we believe the court will agree that these individuals are holding office illegally.”