Africa-Press – Uganda. The new Members of Parliament will be expected to follow strict guidelines during the swearing-in ceremony next month.
The function will be conducted at Parliament’s South Wing parking lot from May 17 to 20.
The acting director of Communications and Public Affairs at Parliament, Ms Helen Kawesa, yesterday told Daily Monitor that Parliament hopes to handle between 80 to 120 MPs per day.
“The swearing-in will be done in sequence of alphabetical order. We want to urge all the MPs-elect to respect schedules, time and the given guidelines,” Ms Kawesa said.
“If an MP-elect comes with more than three escorts, we won’t permit them to access the premises. Only MPs with disability have been allowed to be accompanied by the fourth person as an aide,” she added.
Ms Kawesa said the guidelines are strict because of the existing standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
MPs-elect and their escorts will be required to wear masks, sanitise their hands and observe social distancing.Ms Kawesa said the MPs-elect will also be expected to pick up their respective invitations from May 9 to 12.
After swearing in, the MPs will then vote for Speaker and Deputy Speaker on May 21 at Kololo Independence Grounds.
“It will be a one-off (day) election for the two respective positions. We opted for Kololo because of the numbers. We cannot accommodate all the 500 plus MPs here at Parliament for the one day voting exercise. These are Covid-19 times,” Ms Kawesa told Daily Monitor.
