Uganda’s Parliament has passed the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2025, setting for government funding for political parties.
The bill was passed during a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Anita Among on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
The new sought to make political parties commit to democratic principles like as tolerance, dialogue, and peaceful co-existence. This requires leaders of parties like Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) to meet with the incumbent Yoweri Museveni of the NRM.
The bill was introduced by by Napak District Woman RepresentativeFaith Nakut on May 14, 2025.
The new law requires government to fund political parties and organisations represented in Parliament and those which hold an official membership to the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD).
IPOD is a self-governing body through which parties convene for structured dialogue that the mover of the bill thinks will foster tolerance.
Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka supported the new amendments. Kiryowa Kiwanuka opined that the amendments are in line with Article 72(3) of the Constitution which mandates Parliament to make laws for the regulation of political organizations.
Bukooli County North MP and Chairperson of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Stephen Baka presented the committees report.
“The committee agrees that when political parties commit to these principles, it reduces the likelihood of conflicts, violence and divisive politics, fostering a more stable and peaceful society,” said Baka.
The other change is that section 20 has been revised to recognize IPOD as a statutory organ of the National Consultative Forum for political parties with MPs in parliament.
IPOD will also be responsible for preventing conflicts and resolving disputes between and among political parties.
Meanwhile, IPOD will also create a parallel forum for all registered political parties and organisations that do not have MPs in parliament so as to foster dialogue in the country.
UPC’s Jonathan Odur, who represents Erute South, presented the minority report, punching holes in the bill.
Odur called the bill a violation of the constitution’s article 93 which bars Parliament from “processing a private member’s Bill with a charge on the consolidated fund.”
Speaker Anita Among said opposition parties must cooperate or lose money.
“We have been providing money for the political parties in the House. The law is saying that we have parties in Parliament that do not subscribe to IPOD, that should subscribe to get the money. If you do not want to cooperate and participate in IPOD, then there will be no money,” said Among.
Bobi Wine’s NUP and other parties with MPs in Parliament have been receiving money. For NUP, issues of funding have been thorny, with the Museveni state even accusing the main opposition party of getting money from foreign agents. (See Details Here and There).
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