| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
18 February 2016 |
| Purpose of elections |
President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) retained a two-thirds majority in the enlarged 447-member Parliament (up from 375 (see note). The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) led by Mr. Kizza Besigye came a distant second with 36 seats. The Democratic Alliance (TDA), led by former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, took 19 seats.
Mr. Museveni was re-elected President for a fifth term. Mr. Besigye (FDC), who came second, rejected the election results and called for a protest march. The Supreme Court rejected a petition by Mr. Mbabazi challenging President Museveni's victory, citing voter bribery and arrests.
During the election campaign, the major parties promised to provide better infrastructure, more jobs and affordable health care and to fight corruption. Observers from the European Union praised the peaceful voting but drew attention to a "lack of transparency and independence of the Electoral Commission" and "intimidation and harassment of opposition parties by security agencies".
Note:
The statutory number of directly elected members increased from 238 to 300, and that of women representatives from 112 to 122, due to an increase in the number of constituencies, approved by parliament in August 2015. However, the 2016 elections were held only for the 290 directly elected seats and 112 women representative seats, pending the creation of new districts. In addition, the President of the Republic may appoint as many ex officio members as he/she wishes, although the President has traditionally appointed 11 members to Parliament. The number of ex officio members (ministers who do not have voting rights), and thus the statutory number of members, may vary during the course of the legislature. |
Date of previous elections: 18 February 2011
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature : 11 May 2016
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: February 2021
Number of seats at stake: 427 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 1,747 (1,253 men, 494 women)*
*1,343 candidates (including 88 women) for the 290 directly elected seats and 406 women candidates for the 112 seats reserved for women.
Percentage of women candidates: 28.3%
Number of parties contesting the election: 19
Number of parties winning seats: 5
Alternation of power: No
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: National Resistance Movement (NRM)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 17 May 2016
Name of the new Speaker: Ms. Rebecca Kadaga (National Resistance Movement, NRM) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 18 February 2016 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
15'277'198
10'329'131 (67.61%)
|
|
Notes
|
Turnout figures for the presidential elections. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| National Resistance Movement (NRM) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party (DP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Uganda People's Congress (UPC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Constituency |
District woman |
Other indirect seats |
|
| National Resistance Movement (NRM) |
298
|
200 |
88 |
10 |
|
| Independents |
66
|
44 |
17 |
5 |
|
| Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) |
36
|
29 |
7 |
0 |
|
| Democratic Party (DP) |
15
|
13 |
2 |
0 |
|
| Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) |
10
|
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
| Uganda People's Congress (UPC) |
6
|
4 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
296
153
34.08%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
Parliament (19.05.2016, 15.12.2016, 16.12.2016, 01.01.2017, 15.02.2018)
Electoral Commission (05.07.2016)
http://www.ec.or.ug
http://eueom.eu/
AFP
http://www.bbc.com
http://parliamentwatch.ug
http://www.observer.ug
http://www.newvision.co.ug
Note on the number of women:
At the first session of the 10th Parliament, held on 17 May 2016, there were 143 women out of of 427 members as follows.
- Constituency representatives: 22 out of 290 members (with 10 vacancies)
- District Women representatives: 112 out of 122 women (with 10 vacancies)
- Youth representatives: 2 out of 5 members
- Representatives of disabled persons: 2 out of 5 members
- Workers' representatives: 2 out of 5 members
- Representatives of the Uganda People's Defence Forces: 3 out of 10 members
Between 12 and 14 July 2016, 18 Ex-Officio members (ministers who do not have voting rights), including 9 women, were sworn in. On 20 September, four more District Women representatives from the National Resistance Movement (NRM) were sworn in, giving a total of 298 seats to NRM (up from 294 previously). Meanwhile, three male constituency members replaced three female members.
As at 1 January 2017, there were 154 women out of 449 members with 16 vacancies as follows.
- Constituency representatives: 19 out of 290 members (with 10 vacancies)
- District Women representatives: 116 out of 122 women (with 6 vacancies)
- Youth representatives: 2 out of 5 members
- Representatives of disabled persons: 2 out of 5 members
- Workers' representatives: 2 out of 5 members
- Representatives of the Uganda People's Defence Forces: 3 out of 10 members
- 18 Ex-Officios* including 10 women
*The President of the Republic may appoint as many ex officio members as he/she wishes. |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
