Uganda’s Speaker of parliament Francis Ayume last week threatened to take harsher measures against absentee members of parliament (MPs) “should they continue to dodge the House”. In a circular, the speaker vowed to implement the rule which compels absentee MPs to “vacate their seat”, the independent ‘Monitor’ reported. “The Speaker of parliament wishes to remind you of the provision of Article 83 (1) of the constitution,” the statement said in part. The Article states that: “A member of parliament shall vacate his or her seat in parliament, if that person is absent from 15 sittings of parliament without permission in writing from the speaker and is unable to offer satisfactory explanation”.
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