The National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s Central Executive Committee-CEC has endorsed Jacob Oulanyah as the ruling party candidate for Speakership of the 11th Parliament.
The development comes as a shock to Rebecca Kadaga who has been Speaker for 10 years.
On Saturday, while at State House Entebbe, CEC failed to choose between Kadaga and Oulanyah until today when members conclusively decided to dump the former Speaker in favour of her former deputy.
The decision of CEC , which President Museveni chairs in his capacity as NRM national chairman is important because it is likely to influence the choice of the ruling party’s caucus that sits today.
The caucus is not obliged to endorse CEC’s recommendation, although it has done so in previous Speaker and deputy Speaker races in past Parliaments.
The CEC meeting has proved that it has maintained their reported 2016 agreement to support Oulanyah for Speaker of the 11th Parliament after Kadaga served two terms to match that of her predecessor Edward Ssekandi,who was in 2011 elevated to vice president.
However, while picking expression of interest forms for the position at the NRM headquarters on Kyadondo Road in Kampala on May 19, Kadaga told off CEC that they have no capability to choose Speaker for Parliament.
She said it would be undemocratic for the CEC to sit five years early and say that in five years’ time so and so will be our Speaker of Speaker.
“Why don’t we do that for the president? Every five years he comes and says there is an election. What do we do?
“So you can’t come and say for us (CEC) we decided on the speakership five years ago. Are you deciding for us like the way cattle are herded?” Kadaga charged.
The election of Speaker/Deputy Speaker is slated for 24 May, 2021.
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