Parliament Speakership Race: NRM stuck between longtime faithful Kadaga and Johnny-come-lately Oulanyah With a few hours left for the NRM’s CEC and then the NRM 11th Parliament Caucus to select the party’s flagbearers for the Parliamentary Speaker and Deputy Speaker race, former Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah’s camp is being accused of waging an underground dirty campaign against the favourite-to-win, Kadaga. Oulanyah’s bid, according to sources, also seems to have hit a wall, amongst some NRM stalwarts because he is seen as a johnny-come-lately to the party. There is a strong feeling that choosing Oulanyah who only crossed from UPC to the NRM in 2011, over Kadaga who has been a party faithful since the late 80s will send a wrong message to party members that it doesn’t pay to be devoted and dependable to the party.

In just a few hours, the expression of interest by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party Members of Parliament, for the influential positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the 11^th Parliament shall close.

According to guidelines issued by the party’s Electoral Commission on 18^th May 2021, expressions of interest which started on Wednesday, 19^th May 2021, will come to a close today, paving way for a closed NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting to sit to consider the names of those who will have expressed interest.

The CEC meeting which sits tomorrow, Saturday 22^nd May 2021, is expected to be Chaired by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the party chairman. The CEC will then forward names to the very first NRM caucus meeting- a meeting of all NRM MPs in the 11^th Parliament, which is expected to seat this Sunday, 23^rd May 2021 largely for symbolic ratification and to drum up support ahead of the voting on Monday 24^th May 2021.

The NRM party holds a huge majority in the 11^th Parliament and therefore, candidates endorsed by the party are highly likely to sail through by a huge margin.

Although the party is yet to announce those who have expressed interest- the Speakership race is largely between Rt. Hon Rebecca Kadaga the Speaker in the 9^th and 10^th Parliaments and her former Deputy, Rt. Hon Jacob Oulanyah.

The Deputy Speaker race is dominated by Hon. Thomas B. Tayebwa, a Ugandan lawyer and MP for Ruhinda North County. He is running against West Budama MP, Hon. Jacob Oboth Oboth and Bukedea Woman MP Anita Among.  

Upon approval by the 11^th NRM Caucus, the party is expected to formally present the chosen names to the Parliamentary Clerk on Monday, 24^th May 2021, the same day, Parliament is expected to vote for its two leaders.  

Voting shall be by secret Ballot.

Kadaga or Oulanyah?

Sources from within CEC and the larger NRM caucus say that there is a lot of last-minute pushing and shoving with especially both Kadaga and Oulanyah trying to bulwark their candidatures.

A source from the CEC has intimated to this magazine that there is growing uneasiness about Oulanyah’s candidature amongst the party stalwarts, especially that he is considered a johnny-come-lately into the NRM. The source said that serious reservations have been raised by party faithfuls over what message, the party will be sending to its other faithfuls by choosing Oulanyah over Kadaga, who has been an active frontline party member since the late 80s.

Unlike Kadaga, until 2006, Oulanyah was a well-known Uganda People’s Congress card-holding party member.  He entered elective politics in 2001 and successfully contested for the parliamentary seat of Omoro County, in Gulu District. Although at the time, Uganda was under a no-party system, he was a cardholder of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party. In 2006, following the opening of multiparty politics in 2005, he contested as a UPC candidate for the same seat but lost. By the time he stood again and won in 2011, he had crossed over to the NRM and was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2011. He was again re-elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2016. 

Rebecca Kadaga on the other hand, Kadaga, has been in the NRM since she entered active politics in 1989 as a member of parliament for Kamuli District. 

From 1996 to 1998, Rebecca Kadaga was the Ugandan Minister of State for Regional Cooperation (Africa and the Middle East). She then served as Minister of State for Communication and Aviation from 1998 to 1999 and as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs from 1999 to 2000. She was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament in 2001, a position that she held until 19 May 2011, when she was elected Speaker of Parliament.

After the February 2016 general election, Kadaga was unanimously re-elected as Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2016.  

This has been, the most hotly contested Speakership race and certainly the toughest in Rebecca’s Kadaga’s since she became a deputy speaker in 2001.

President Museveni, who is a kingmaker in these races, has avoided directly taking sides in the race- although some sides have occasionally claimed his support.