The National Resistance Movement Members of Parliament are set to convene on Tuesday morning to debate the Constitutional Court petition that threatens the seats of about one fifth of legislators.
ChimpReports has seen the copy of communication sent to all NRM MPs on Monday morning by the office of the Government Chief Whip for a Caucus meeting today at the Office of the Prime Minister’s conference hall.
The summons to the MPs did not mention the agenda of the emergency sitting.
We however managed to reach the Government Chief Whip, Ruth Nankabirwa who revealed that the impromptu Caucus assembly is going to deliberate on the case before the Constitutional Court.
“We didn’t reveal the agenda to our members but it’s not something to hide. We are going to talk about what’s being talked about in the media regarding the 76 seats on the verge of being declared nonexistent,” Ms. Nankabirwa told this reporter.
She added that the MPs have been unsettled by the development and it is incumbent upon the party leadership to expound on the matter.
Last Week, City Advocate, Andrew Tumusiime petitioned the Constitutional Court for declarations that 76 constituencies created between 2001 and 2016 were not prescribed and endorsed by parliament as required by the Constitution.
Tumusiime filed the petition against the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission which conducted elections in the said illegal constituencies.
He argued that the constitution empowers Parliament alone to prescribe and endorse new constituencies upon which the EC bases its decision to demarcate boundaries to conduct elections; which was not the case with the contentious 76 constituencies.
Tumusiime in the same petition questioned what business all the 76 Legislators are conducting in the august house well knowing that they are illegally in the place.
The two respondents- Attorney General and the Electoral Commission are yet to explain themselves before the court.