Election of speaker for Eala hits deadlock

East African Legislative Assembly members talk before a sitting at the Rwanda Parliament hall on March 7, 2017. Both Burundi and Rwanda fielded one of their own for the speaker's post. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA

What you need to know:

  • Failure to pick a speaker for the fourth assembly has been attributed to the feud between Burundi and Rwanda.

ARUSHA, Tanzania

Tanzania was criticised on Monday over its candidate as the election of a speaker for the East African Legislative Assembly flopped.

Sharp divisions emerged among the East African Community (EAC) partner states, with the candidature of Tanzania’s Adam Kimbisa strongly opposed by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Failure to pick a speaker for the fourth assembly, whose 54 members were sworn in earlier in the day, has been attributed to the feud between Burundi andRwanda, each of which had its lawmaker fielded for the top post.

ROTATION

MPs from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda opposed the Tanzanian candidate on grounds that the position of speaker is held on a rotational basis.

Mr Abulrahman Kinana, a seasoned Tanzanian politician, was the first Eala speaker of the revived EAC from 2001 to 2007.

He was followed by Mr Abdirahin Haithar Abdi from Kenya (2007 to 2012) and Ms Margaret Nnatogo Zziwa and Mr Daniel Kidega, both from Uganda, who served from 2012 to 2014 and 2014 to 2017 respectively.

When the House resumed in the afternoon on Monday, after the swearing-in, Uganda MP Fred Mbidde Mukasa tabled a motion to object to the candidature of Mr Kimbisa, saying it was against the EAC Treaty.

He cited the Eala Rules of Procedures, which are categorical that the speaker shall be elected on a rotational basis.

He said only three EAC states — Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan — were the ones eligible to field their candidates for the speaker’s race.