Anita Will Be Ideal For Museveni As The Next Speaker Of Parliament

Most likely, Speaker Anita Annet Among will retain her Speakership in the next parliament. She did well for NRM as Speaker, but like a large swath of MPs - she’s allegedly very, very intense and corrupt.

I have also observed that a lot of MPs feel easier around her compared to previous speakers. She must be a social butterfly. She speaks English in a very ordinary Ugandan way, and I think some people find that appealing. She actually sounds funny,sometimes, especially when she's telling MPs to sit down. I wonder if she was once a teacher or something!

In Teso, particularly Bukedea, she's overwhelmingly popular. NRM did well over there due to her good mobilisation skills. She was the biggest bulldozer for NRM in the 2026 elections - the way she mudslung Muwanga Kivumbi at a rally in Butambala was extraordinary. He,Kivumbi, couldn't survive it, and I don't feel sorry for him because his group started that kind of politics.

Anita has strongly implied that this( 2026 - 2031) will be her last term as Speaker, going so far as to reassure her deputy,Thomas Tayebwa, that he will be supported in 2031 for the same position So, that's enough to get Tayebwa to mobilise support for her.

Norbert Mao, on the other hand, is very popular among MPs from Northern Uganda, and he can flex his considerable muscle in intraparty primary fights, but most NRM MPs secretly detest or fear him. They do not want someone that's so "clean" (incorruptible) actually wielding the gavel. I'm sure Mao will be a problem for Museveni's weird laws in parliament.

It's likely that he will either be kept in his current office as Constitutional Affairs minister or made PM, but not VP. He's too ambitious and wants to reach the top without suffering any teargas or prison, and that's not ideal in today's Uganda.

If Anita is re-elected, she will not be a barrier to Museveni's legislative agenda, e.g., changing the presidential term from 5 to 7 years, electing the president through parliament, etc.

If Mao wins, he will see an opportunity to enact historic progressive legislation as the swan song for his long career. He has always said that one day, he will be president of Uganda. So, he will see this as a long road to the top.

Nevertheless; it’s hard (but not impossible) to imagine enough NRM MPs getting disgusted with their own leadership and voting for Mao,but that would be pretty shocking.

So, in other words, it would really depend on who Museveni prefers as a speaker. My money is on Anita Amongi.

Lastly, It's amazing that nobody is talking about any opposition candidate as the next speaker or deputy speaker, as was the case after the 2021 elections. Yes, Mao is DP but he seems to have both his legs in NRM now.

I think Ugandans are starting to understand political maths.The Speaker is almost always someone who has the strong support of the majority party. Secondly, even if an opposition party has 46 MPs, it's as literally useless in parliament as a party with only 6 MPs.

This session of opposition MPs was utterly wasted on political pursuits, intriguing and chasing windmills. When faced with serious divisions prior to the 2026 elections, opposition leaders responded with narrowly political jabs at each other. The public has lost trust in most of them.

Here in England, there are two Speakers within the UK Parliament - one in the House of Commons and one in the House of Lords. Both Speakers are elected by their respective Houses.

The current Speaker of the House of Commons is Sir Lindsay Hoyle. He belongs to no party, he leaves his former party on election (in Hoyle's case the Labour Party) to ensure impartiality. He can remain in position until either a) he retires b) is voted out of his constituency. (The latter is unlikely due to the convention of the major parties never fielding a candidate against the Speaker) Or c) if he does win his seat at a general election, the Commons vote against him (again an unlikely scenario).

This is the same in Uganda - While a Speaker is elected at the beginning of each new Parliament, there are no specific legal term limits restricting how many times a Speaker can be re-elected to the position. The only difference is that a Uganda Speaker is usually state leaning.

In the House Lords, the speaker is called the Lord Speaker, and the current incumbent is Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Michael Forsyth). Lord Speakers are also impartial and leave their party once elected. Lord Speakers can remain in office for up to two terms of five years.