Museveni pushes for constitutional amendment to recall underperforming MPs from Parliament

President Yoweri Museveni has renewed debate over political accountability, proposing a constitutional amendment to allow citizens to recall Members of Parliament who fail to serve their constituents. 

The President made the remarks while campaigning in Butambala, where he argued that Ugandans already possess democratic power but rarely use it to demand performance from their elected leaders.

Museveni told supporters that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government had empowered citizens with the right to elect leaders at all levels, from LC1 to LC5, including constituency MPs and District Woman MPs. 

However, he said many legislators abandon the people who voted them into office. 

“While I was chatting with some youths, they told me that they elect these representatives but when they get into office, they forget about the constituents,” Museveni said.

To address this, the President proposed restoring the “Right of Recall,” which would allow voters to remove an MP before the end of their five-year term. 

“If we elect an MP and they do not do what they were sent to do, we should bring them back,” he said, 

“We need to put this back in the constitution. This provision was there when we came out of the bush, during the times of the National Resistance Councils. But when we entered the multiparty dispensation they removed it."

But we need to discuss this. Instead of waiting for five years, if an MP does not perform to the expectations of the people, we can gather signatures and recall them”

The proposal, however, touches on a long-standing constitutional contradiction. 

Article 84 of Uganda’s Constitution outlines grounds for recalling an MP, including misconduct, incapacity, or persistent desertion of the electorate. 

Yet a 2005 amendment introduced Article 84(7), which states that the right to recall only exists under the Movement political system. 

Since Uganda currently operates under a multiparty system, courts and legal experts have consistently ruled that the recall provision is effectively suspended.

Even if reinstated, the recall process would be demanding. It would require a petition signed by at least two-thirds of registered voters in a constituency, followed by an inquiry by the Electoral Commission before a seat could be declared vacant.