Former leader of the opposition in parliament and Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba has outlined seven key proposed reforms ahead of the 2026 elections.
Mpuuga, the embattled commissioner of parliament, says the reforms are necessary to cure the chaos that marred previous elections. “You recall the nature of the 2021 elections and how they were actually a major setback in our process of democratizing Uganda and propelling durable constitutional order in this country,” he said as he announced his plans to push for electoral reforms through legislation.
“The probability of having a durable election based on the last election is second to none. Next week, I will be ready to seek from the Speaker, leave of Parliament, to be able to sponsor a number of bills that will catapult a conversation on possible constitutional amendments and major electoral reforms that will give way to a national conversation, to a better elections that can give an idea of a free and fair process.”
On top of the proposed reforms is the restoration and entrenching of presidential term limits, which Parliament removed from the constitution in 2005 to allow Museveni extend his rule beyond two elective terms.
“Term limits were the minimum concession of the 1995 Constitution [which helped] give that country a chance for the very first time in our history to change leadership in a free and fair election because the major failure of the 1966 Constitution was the failure to enable the country transition, organize free and fair elections and transition from one leader to another,” explained Mathias Mpuuga.
The MP also proposes that each presidential candidate should have a running mate who shall become the Deputy President if they win the election as is the case in Kenya. But President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua are currently at loggerheads as was the case between Uhuru Kenyatta and his then deputy president Ruto.
Mathias Mpuuga is also proposing the introduction of a second tier of Parliament with 39 MPs from the original 39 districts of Uganda. He also proposes that this Senate-like tier of parliament should be headed by the Deputy President.
His other proposal is the reduce the size of Parliament to 292 MPs with legislators representing districts instead of counties. He also wants political parties to nominate woman MPs. “I am proposing that instead of having County MPs, we shall have a directly elected Member of Parliament for each district. It can be a man or woman, it doesn’t matter. So currently, you will have 146 MPs,” noted Mpuuga.
“We shall retain Women MPs, so then you will have 146 plus 10 MPs from the cities. I am also proposing that the Women MPs should be elected by proportional representation, where for every political party that has gotten a vote will have a chance to have a woman representative in Parliament. This is power sharing because the idea of winner takes it all disfranchises politics, it makes it the game of the eaters, the game of the powerful.”
The former LOP also wants government to allow ordinary voters to challenge in court the presidential election results to avoid a scenario where the presidential candidates are unable to file petitions.
“I am proposing amendments to the Presidential Elections Act to take care the maleficence that comes with arresting a candidate. Remember Robert Kyagulanyi was held indoors under house arrest when he was supposed to go to court. Dr Kizza Besigye was held at his residence when he was supposed to petition,” explained Mpuuga.
“I want us to amend the Presidential Elections Act to say, even a registered voter can petition court such that the appetite to arrest or detain would-be complainants reduces.”
His other proposed electoral reform is that presidential election results for each district be declared at the district before they are transmitted to the National Tally Centre.
He also wants the laws amended to allow prisoners and Ugandans in the diaspora to vote. His argument? “The people in the diaspora contribute more money through remittances than Uganda’s biggest export which is coffee. So how do you disfranchise the people that actually sustain the economy to that extent?” he wondered.
And for prisoners? “When you are in prison, certain rights are curtailed but civic rights can’t be curtailed.”
Meanwhile, as Mathias Mpuuga proposes electoral reforms, a group called the DP Bloc has ‘endorsed’ him as its 2026 presidential candidate. (See Details Here).
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