Ugandans Say No To Life Presidency – Survey

By witnessradio.org Team

A new report by the Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform and Citizens’ coalition on electoral Democracy indicates that majority of Ugandans do not support amendments on article 102[b] that puts a seal on the retirement age for anyone vying for presidency.

A survey conducted in 100 districts in all the regions of Uganda shows mass opposition to changes in the constitution. Eastern region recorded the highest number of those opposed to the amendment with 95% of the respondents saying no to the lighting of the age limit.

The survey that involved 50,429 respondents indicates that 76% of people from Western Uganda are opposed to the lifting of the age limit. The current president of Uganda who has been in power for now 31 years hails from the western region.

In Northern Uganda, 86% are opposed to the amendments while 14% support the lifting of the age cap. Results from the central region show that 66% Ugandans are opposed to life presidency while 34% are for the changes, the highest pro-amendment figure registered in the whole survey.

This time round, the women who are said to be pro the sitting president are also opposed to the lifting of the age limit with 85% mark registered.

However in the same survey, it came out clear that 95% of people in Kyegegwa district want the age limit scrapped while only 5% are opposed to this.

The results from the survey also pit voters against their representatives in Arua municipality and Igara west represented by Hon Ibrahim Abiriga and Raphael Magyezi respectively.

In Igara West where the mover of the motion to have the age limit moved, Raphael Magyezi hails from, 88% of voters do not support the amendments while the results from West Nile where Hon Abiriga comes from say otherwise.

Presenting the findings, the executive Director great lakes institute for strategic studies Godber Tumushabe said that the position by Ugandans overall is very clear that they do not want any changes in the constitution. “It was a random sample and wherever we went, across the board, female or male, Ugandans are saying, no to the amendments”.

He however reported that their researchers encountered a number of challenges with some arrested and survey results confiscated. “our researchers didn’t find it easy to hold town hall meetings or even reach out to the respondents, in Kampala, for instance, a meeting organized for all CSOs leaders and MPs at Muganzirwazza was blocked even with police permission” Godber Said.

Reacting to the results from the survey, the Chairman Citizen’s coalition for electoral Democracy, Dr Livingstone Ssewanyana said that the findings offer scientific proof to the reports from Ugandans are against the bill. He says the biggest problem in Uganda right now is not the Constitution for one to survive. “There is a lot of discontent brewing everywhere, the doctors are on strike, the prosecutors, the other day the president was stopped by taxi operators… this all shows that the problem right now is survival” Ssewanyana emphasized.

Meanwhile the director Center for Constitutional governance Sarah Bireete says Ugandans have been clear on the age limit and will find means of fighting life presidency. “This is a debate on life presidency and if it succeeds, Ugandans will find away just like they have done it in the past”. She advised that parliament respects the voices of the people and stop debate on the matter.

Parliament convenes on Tuesday next week to debate the motion on constitutional amendments that will see a president ruling until death if not defeated in an election.