Mathias Mpuuga, the leader of the opposition in parliament, has commented on the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) plan to limit elective positions to two terms.
According to Mr. Mpuuga, this will push some of the party’s capable politicians to switch parties or run alone.
“A Member of Parliament or a mayor can’t make a final decision. Therefore, even if you haven’t given them a party flag, people can give them another mandate as they wish,” Mr Mpuuga said.
All party leaders and leaders chosen under the party banner now have a two-term limit, per a resolution passed by NUP delegates on April 15 at the party’s new headquarters in Makerere, Kavule.
As a result, no one may serve as secretary general, chairperson, or party president for more than two terms.
A person may serve no more than two terms as a councilor or member of parliament while representing the NUP. However, this clause will go into effect at the beginning of the 2026 election cycle.
The NUP members who advocated the term restrictions, according to Mr. Mpuuga, were thinking about President Museveni’s protracted tenure in office and how little he has changed the nation.
“So they thought that longevity in politics leads to someone to retard both in politics and their personal abilities. Therefore, let us give the amendment time and see if it will bring productivity,” he said.
Joel Senyonyi, a spokesman for the NUP, said earlier that the amendment shows that the party wants to hold itself to the same standards that it wants the government of the nation to follow.
National Unity Platform wants the President’s term limits to be reinstated in the Constitution.