Atwoli Calls for End of Presidential Term Limits

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has called for an end to presidential term limits while declaring President William Ruto will win the 2027 General Elections.

Speaking on Citizen TV on Wednesday night, the outspoken power broker revived talks to extend the presidential term limits from the current five years to seven.

“Let us remove the term limit. This is what is causing us problems. Somebody is timing after 10 years, I want to be president. Are Ugandans experiencing the same problems we experience here?” asserted Atwoli.

He went on to add, “People have made politics to be an industry.  Every morning is politics from morning to evening. Because they know James’ term is almost ending.”

Already, there has been uproar following a proposal by United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Senator Samson Cherargei, seeking to amend Article 136 of the Constitution to extend the term of the president—as well as elected officials—from five to seven years.

Under the law, a president is eligible to serve a maximum of two five-year terms. However, Cherargei, a close ally of President William Ruto, argued that the current period is not enough for an elected president, or other elected leaders, to fulfill their constitutional mandate.

“Seven years will enable the president to have a good opportunity to deliver his manifesto,” he said, adding that it typically requires a minimum of two years for the newly elected president to establish themselves effectively.

However, the Bill was shut down by President Ruto and Senators alike, but the talks over the controversial proposal are not going away.

Across the board to the west, the Ugandan Parliament in 2005 removed a term limit clause that would have stopped President Yoweri Museveni from contesting.

In 2017, lawmakers again voted to remove a constitutional limit on the age of presidential candidates, paving the way for 75-year-old Museveni to stand again in the 2021 election.

In his interview on Wednesday night, Atwoli referenced this, arguing Uganda has had stability as a result of these amendments.

Atwoli also downplayed Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah’s presidential ambitions, urging him to focus on building alliances with regional leaders and ensuring financial readiness for the next elections.

He went on to assert that President Ruto is not going anywhere. “I can tell you here and now, with the direction President Williamson has taken—that direction he’s now taking, that trajectory that he’s now taking—he will be the president at 10 am in 2027,” he asserted.