The impact of independent members of parliament in multi-party democracies: the Ugandan case
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Date
2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance
Abstract
The prominence of political parties as the most appropriate organs for the aggregation
of people’s interests and the proper channel for attainment of parliamentary seats
may diminish if the trend and interest in non-party candidature continues to grow in
developing countries. The phenomenal rise of independent candidates is attributed to
the decline in partisanship (Berglund, Holmberg, & Schmitt 2005), the rise of anti-party
sentiments (Belanger 2004), internal party democracy flaws, dissatsfaction, personal
and selfish reasons, and factionalism. In Uganda, it is widely believed it is as a result of
resentment of parties arising from disputes in party primaries. It has continually been
evidenced by the number of Independent Members of Parliament (IMPs) who make
it to parliament that the independent candidates have been doing well in elections
and performing actively in parliament. The number of IMPs in Uganda’s parliament
has steadily been rising, from 38 in the Eighth Parliament, to 43 in the Ninth Parliament
and now, to 69 in the Tenth Parliament (Parliament of Uganda 2019). The 69 IMPs in the
Ugandan parliament are greater in number than the official opposition, which stands
at 38.
The aim of this paper is to give a perspective on the incidence of IMPs; their relevance
and challenges in Uganda. After the introduction, the paper gives the background,
followed by the methodology. The fourth section provides a conceptualisation of
the incidence of IMPs; explaining why independents run for office. The fifth section
deals with the relevance and power of IMPs, globally and in Uganda. Section six looks
into the challenges of IMPs. Finally, the last section contains critical reflections for the
future of the phenomenon of IMPs.
Description
Keywords
Parliament, Multi-party democracies
Citation
Karyeija, G. K. (2019). The impact of independent members of parliament in multi-party democracies: the Ugandan case. Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance, 2(2), 60-71.