Uganda
Parliament
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
Parliament
Parliamentary term (years)
5
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1981 to 1985
from 1991
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
African Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
Speaker of Parliament
Speaker
Jacob L.
Oulanyah
(Male)
Year of birth
1965
Term
24.05.2021
Additional information
Elected on 24 May 2021.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Clerk
Secretary General
Adolf
Kasaija Mwesige
(Male)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 15 July 2021.
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
499
Indirectly elected members
Indirectly elected, for example by regional parliaments or an electoral college.
30
Other members
For example, ex-officio members of parliament, such as Cabinet members, members of the royal family, Attorney General, Speaker if appointed from outside parliament.
27
Note on the statutory number of members
- 499 members directly elected: 353 from single-member constituencies and 146 from Women Districts
- 30 members indirectly elected:
(a) Five youth representatives;
(b) Five representatives of disabled persons;
(c) Five workers' representatives;
(d) Five members representing older people;
(e) 10 representatives of the Uganda People's Defence Forces.
At least one person from categories (a) to (d) and two from category (e) must be women.
Other: In addition to the 529 members, the President of the Republic may appoint any person outside Parliament to the Cabinet. The person(s) appointed (ministers who do not have voting rights) become ex officio members of Parliament. The number of ex officio members, and thus the statutory number of members, may vary during the course of the legislature.
See historical data for this field.
- 30 members indirectly elected:
(a) Five youth representatives;
(b) Five representatives of disabled persons;
(c) Five workers' representatives;
(d) Five members representing older people;
(e) 10 representatives of the Uganda People's Defence Forces.
At least one person from categories (a) to (d) and two from category (e) must be women.
Other: In addition to the 529 members, the President of the Republic may appoint any person outside Parliament to the Cabinet. The person(s) appointed (ministers who do not have voting rights) become ex officio members of Parliament. The number of ex officio members, and thus the statutory number of members, may vary during the course of the legislature.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature.
Average age of all members
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Auma Hellen Wandera (Female)
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Women
112
Youth
5
Persons with disabilities
5
Notes
5 seats for youth of whom 1 must be a woman; 5 seats for persons with disabilities of whom 1 must be a woman; 10 seats for Uganda Peoples Defence Forces of whom 2 must be women; 5 seats for trade unions of whom 1 must be a woman.
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
Reserved seats (see previous question), with special ballot in each district for women candidates only.
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Cf. Article 78 of the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act.
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Notes
Reserved seat. Five reserved seats for youth MPs, law adopted in 1993. The youth MPs are selected by the National Youth Delegates Conference. Recently challenged as unconstitutional.
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Article 78 of the Uganda Constitution, Section 15 of the National Youth Council Act
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.