DEPUTY National Assembly Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson
On Wednesday, the opposition submitted
to the Clerk of the National Assembly a petition seeking to oust Dr
Ackson, whom among other things is accused of incompetence and
mistreatment of opposition legislators.
Since Tuesday, MPs from the opposition
vowed to boycott all House sessions to be chaired by the Deputy Speaker
as a sign of protesting her chairing of the august House.
They have since then walked out of the
debating chamber whenever Dr Ackson is chairing a session. However, at a
news conference here yesterday, three MPs from CCM defended Dr Ackson
and praised her as a competent leader who sticks to the Standing Orders
of the National Assembly.
The MPs include Dr Abdallah Possi
(Nominated), Mr Joseph Kakunda (Sikonge) and Prof Anna Tibaijuka (Muleba
South). The trio spoke highly of Dr Ackson, praising the trained lawyer
for her unwavering stand on issues of national interests.
“What the opposition MPs are doing is
just seeking cheap popularity, the National Assembly has rules which
ought to be followed,” Mr Kakunda remarked. Prof Tibaijuka went further
and charged that the MPs from the opposition were undermining the Deputy
Speaker mainly because she is a woman.
For his part, Dr Possi who is also the
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary
Affairs and People with Disabilities) explained that it is the
discretion of the presiding chair to allow or reject any point of
guidance raised by any member.
According to Prof Tibaijuka, the
opposition will require one third of signatures from MPs, translating to
129 out of 387 legislators for the petition to oust the Deputy Speaker
to be realistic.
Dr Ackson fell out with opposition MPs
last Monday after she ordered them to be thrown out of the debating
chamber for defying her orders
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