Population: 34,612,250

Constitution: Republic

Date of Independence: 09 Oct 1962

CPA Branch Formed: 01 Jan 1952

Voting Age: 18

Branch Profile:

Date CPA Branch formed: 1952 (subsidiary Branch) 1956 (affiliated Branch) 1962 (main Branch). 1971 (Branch in abeyance) 1981 (Branch reformed) 1985 (Branch in abeyance) January 1997 (Branch out of abeyance). Current constitution: October 1995, amended in August 2000, and further amended in November 2005 to allow multiparty politics. The 1995 Constitution had extended the rule of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), set up after Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army emerged victorious in January 1986 from a protracted civil war. A new elective Parliament came into existence and the constitution also provided for direct presidential elections. A national referendum on the political system, held on 29 June 2000, overwhelmingly supported the 'no party' or Movement system of government, although the legality of the referendum was challenged by the opposition. The Constitutional Court on 10 August 2000 threw out one of two laws intended to validate the referendum. Parliament voted on 4 September 2000 to validate the referendum and amend the constitution. However by mid-2004 a number of groups were openly functioning as political parties, and in another referendum, held on 28 July 2005, a majority voted in favour of multiparty democracy. Legislature: The legislature is unicameral. The sole chamber, the Parliament, is elected for a five-year term. 350 of its members are directly elected and 25 Members are indirectly elected to represent Interest Groups. Of the 350 Members directly elected, 112 Members are Women representatives. Cabinet ministers (currently 11) are not already members of the Parliament are ex officio and non-voting members. Political makeup of government: In the 2011 elections, the second multiparty elections since 1980, President Museveni was declared the winner on 18 February with 68.38% of the vote compared with 26.01% for his main rival, Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change. Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) retained a clear majority in parliament with 70.4%. A cabinet of 71 members out of 76 was appointed and approved by Parliament and sworn into office on 6 June 2011. The Cabinet is headed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the Vice President is Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi while the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business is Amama Mbabazi. The Government Chief Whip is Hon. John Nasasira. Members elect for the 9th Parliament were sworn in by the Clerk to Parliament on 16th, 17th and 18th May 2011. The elections of Speaker and Deputy Speaker were conducted on 19th May 2011 and Hon. Rebecca Kadaga Alitwala was elected the Speaker, while Hon. Jacob Oulanyah was elected the Deputy Speaker. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker who are from the National Resistance Movement resoundingly defeated Hon. Nandala Mafabi and Hon. Odonga Otto from the Forum for Democratic Change Party. Hon. Nandala Mafabi was appointed the Leader of Opposition, while Hon. Kizza Winfred was appointed the Opposition Chief Whip. Party Compositions in the Parliament of Uganda is as follows:- Party Composition National Resistance Movement Organisation ? (Party in Government), 264 seats (70.4 per cent); Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) - Official Opposition, 34 seats (9.1 per cent); Democratic Party (DP), 12 seats (3.2 per cent); Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), 10 seats (2.7 per cent); Justice Forum (JEEMA), one seat (0.3 per cent); Conservative Party (CP), one seat (0.3 per cent); Independents, 43 sents (11.5 %); Ex-Officios, 11 seats (2.8 per cent) NB: Party Composition excludes UPDF Representatives and Ex-Officio Members.