The Parliament is the legislative arm of the government of Uganda. It derives its mandate and functions from the 1995 Constitution, the Laws of Uganda and its own Rules of Procedure. The Constitution contains articles which provide for the establishment, composition and functions of the Parliament of Uganda and empowers Parliament “to make laws on any matter for the peace, order, development and good governance of Uganda”, and “to protect the Constitution and promote democratic governance in Uganda”. The functions of Parliament are as follows;
- To pass laws for the good governance of Uganda.
- To provide, by giving legislative sanctions taxation and acquisition of loans, the means of carrying out the work of Government.
- To scrutinise Government policy and administration through the following:
- pre-legislative scrutiny of bills referred to the Parliamentary committees by Parliament
- scrutinising of the various objects of expenditure and the sums to be spent on each
- assuring transparency and accountability in the application of public funds
- monitoring the implementation of Government programmes and projects
- To debate matters of topical interest usually highlighted in the President’s State of the Nation address.
- To vet the appointment of persons nominated by the President under the Constitution or any other enactment.
The term of Parliament is five years from the date of its first sitting after a general election.
Composition of Parliament
The composition of Parliament is as follows:
- Members directly elected to represent constituencies on the basis of universal adult suffrage and by secret ballot.
- One woman representative for every district;
- Such numbers of representatives of the army, youth, workers, persons with disabilities and other groups as Parliament may determine; and
- The Vice-President and Ministers who, if not already elected Members of Parliament, shall be ex-officio members without the right to vote on any issue requiring a vote in Parliament.
The Parliament of Uganda has been summarized to include the following;
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker