Committee Race Begins as Parliament Organises for Cabinet Vetting

 The Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige, has stated that he is waiting for the opposition parties to nominate the representatives to the Appointment Committee of the 12th Parliament. 

The composition of the Committee is urgently required, especially after the president’s nomination of new ministers who, by law, have to be vetted by parliament before they can take the positions.

According to Mwesige, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has already submitted its nominees for the influential Appointments Committee, while other parties are yet to present their lists.

“I’m informed that the NRM political organisation has already submitted its list for membership to the Appointments Committee, and we are waiting for other political parties also to submit their proposals,” he told MPs.

The Parliament’s Appointments Committee is chaired by the Speaker of Parliament and deputized by the Deputy Speaker. 

The other members are the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business, the Leader of Opposition, Government Chief Whip, and Opposition Whip.

It’s composed of a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 40 members designated by all political parties, including the independents, according to their numerical representation in Parliament.

The committee allocations will reflect the numerical strength of parties in the 12th Parliament.

Out of the current 528 MPs, the NRM commands 372 seats, representing about 70 percent of the House. The National Unity Platform (NUP) holds 49 seats, Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) 12, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) nine, Democratic Party (DP) six, People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) two, and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) one.

The House also has 68 independent MPs and 10 representatives of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

Unlike party-affiliated legislators, independent MPs will not be nominated by party whips.

Addressing MPs, Mwesige emphasized that Parliament’s work is largely conducted through committees, a system introduced under the 1995 Constitution to improve legislative scrutiny, oversight, and accountability.