Uganda

Parliament

Political system
Presidential system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

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
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1981 to 1984
from 1991
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
African Group

Speaker

Official title
Speaker of Parliament
Speaker
Anita Annet Among (Female)
Date of birth: 23 Nov 1973
Term
25 Mar 2022
Additional information

Elected on 25 March 2022.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Clerk
Secretary General
Adolf Kasaija Mwesige (Male)
Term
15 Jul 2021
Notes

Appointed on 15 July 2021.

Members

Statutory number of members
529

Notes:

- 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.

Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
499
Indirectly elected members
30
Other members
27
Current number of members
557
Men
368
Women
189
Percentage of women
33.9%
Statutory number of members per country
529
Population (in thousands)
48,656
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
91,977

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
46.9
(2021-05)
Youngest member
Auma Hellen Wandera (Female)
Youngest member (years)
24
Oldest member
Peninah Businge Kabingani (Male)
Oldest member (years)
78
Number of members, by age (2021-05)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 8 68 82 71 79 23 11 0 0 342
Female 0 12 39 44 32 39 8 6 0 0 180
Totals per age interval 0 20 107 126 103 118 31 17 0 0 522
Total <= 45: 253 Total >= 46: 269
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
3.8% 1.5% 2.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
24.3% 15% 9.8%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
48.5% 30% 18.2%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Yes
Women
112
Youth
5
Persons with disabilities
5
Other groups
-

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
Yes

Notes: Reserved seats (see previous question), with special ballot in each district for women candidates only.

Sources: Cf. Article 78 of the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act.

Youth quota
Yes

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.

Sources: Article 78 of the Uganda Constitution, Section 15 of the National Youth Council Act

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No