The third East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has elected Margaret Nantongo Zziwa its first female Speaker. Rt. Hon Zziwa polled 33 votes against Hon Dora Byamukama’s 12 votes.
The first round witnessed none of the contestants realise the requisite 30 votes or two-thirds ( 2/3) majority as per Rules 7(9) of the Rules of Procedure with Hon Zziwa scoring 27 votes against Hon Byamukama’s 18. The Clerk of the House, Kenneth Madete thus called for round two of the poll.
At exactly 4.18 pm, the Clerk declared Hon Margaret Zziwa the winner and proceeded to administer the oath. Rt. Hon Zziwa thus takes over from the Speaker Emeritus, Rt. Hon Abdirahin Abdi as the third Speaker of the Assembly.
Earlier on, each candidate was given a 5 minute interlude to espouse their policies on the floor of the House.
During voting, Members of EALA cast their votes following an alphabetical order. Present to witness the occasion was the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Rt. Hon Rebecca Kadaga, ODM Chief Whip, Jakoyo Midiwo and a number of Members of Parliament from the Partner States. Also in attendance is the former first lady of the United Republic of Tanzania, Lady Maria Nyerere.
All Members are expected to be sworn-in tonight.
The new Speaker is a holder of an Msc Degree in applied Social Research and an M.A degree in Gender and Women Studies. Rt. Hon Zziwa is also a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Stirling, UK.
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For more Information, contact: Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer; East African Legislative Assembly; Tel: +255-27-2508240 Cell: +255 787 870945, +254-733-718036; Email: bodiko@eachq.org Web: https://www.eala.org Arusha, Tanzania
