Museveni Runs Again After 32 Years in Office
President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni looks stern before meeting Queen Elizabeth II at State House in Entebbe, Uganda. The Queen will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday. CHOGM will be attended by over 5000 delegates, The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall as well as UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday November 21 2007. See PA story ROYAL Uganda. Photo credit should read Chris Jackson/PA Wire
Uganda’s Constitutional Court has removed the 75-year-old age cap, allowing President Yoweri Museveni, now 73, to run again as president.
The president has already spent 32 years in office and he is seeking a sixth term.
The court delivered its ruling on the consolidated presidential age limit petition at the High Court in Mbale on Thursday.
The three main issues the court was to rule on were the lifting of the age caps, extension of the term of Parliament and the raid on the House last year.
In the verdict, the five-judge bench, by a majority of 4-1, upheld the removal of the 75-year age cap that allows President Yoweri Museveni.
The court unanimously rejected the extension of the tenure of the presidency and Parliament from five to seven years.
It stated that it was unconstitutional to amend the law without subjecting it to a referendum. This means that elections are due in 2021.
On the raid by security operatives who evicted mainly opposition MPs from Parliament during the age limit Bill debate last year, the judges said the conduct of lawmakers necessitated some intervention but condemned the handling of the incident by police.