Institutional Analysis and Capacity Needs Assessment: National Consultative Forum - Kampala

National Consultative Forum (NCF) for political parties is a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas among political parties in the country. NCF is a constitutional body of the Republic of Uganda and operationalized under Section 20(4) of the Political Parties and Organizations Act No.18 of 2005. Forum is currently comprised of thirty eight member political party/organizations with Secretariat as hosted within Electoral Commission. Secretary of Electoral Commission also acts as Secretary of the National Consultative Forum. NCF is chaired by a party with majority in Parliament and deputized by an opposition party with the largest membership in Parliament. Currently the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement is chairing the National Consultative Forum while the Forum for Democratic Change, opposition party deputizes.

As per the legal mandate/framework of the PPOA 18 (2005), as amended, NCF performs the following functions:

Liaising with the Electoral Commission on matters pertaining to political parties and organizations;Ensuring that political parties and organizations comply with the code of conduct prescribed under Section 19;Communicating the complaints and grievances of political parties and organizations to the Electoral Commission;Representing political parties and organizations in any case where the parties and organizations have to give a common position;The resolution of disputes among political parties and organizations;Making recommendations to the Minister on any matter under the Act; andSuch other functions as may be prescribed by the Minister with the approval of the Parliament.

In 2013 and part of 2014, focus of NCF has been on institutionalizing the operations of the NCF building on its recognized role and constitutional mandate; generating/developing proposals on electoral reforms/amendments using consensus building processes within the NCF; developing Draft Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Organizations, and developing capacities for its membership focusing on dialogue and consensus building. A combination of these interventions have led to NCF positioning itself as a forum for dialogue on political reform within the country. However the Forum is in its nascent stages of operations and requires further consolidation of its operations.

In 2013-2014, NCF developed an Action Plan to guide its operations and lay foundations for delivering its constitutional role. NCF in early part of 2013 undertook a phased consultative process of engaging all the members within the NCF from different political parties and agreed on the following.

NCF should be:

Seen as a credible and independent convener and facilitator;Able to function within the parameters of its membership, which is political parties and representation from Electoral Commission, but also have the capacities that will allow it serve as an intermediary between these actors when necessary;Presented to the country as a vital national capacity organ mandated to build dialogue and consensus, which are especially necessary for sustaining both peace and development.

The following emerged as the core roles of the NCF building on its functions as provided within the legal frameworks

Intermediary/ consensus builder: An honest broker and intermediary between the Electoral Commission and Political Parties and Organizations (PPO) on issues or points of contention that might be raised by either side, and also issues where it is mandated to play a role, including electoral reform and the development and implementation of the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Organizations.

Analyst/ Monitor: Monitoring political behavior and political trends, including the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Organizations, and making recommendations to PPOs, Electoral Commission, and Ministry of Justice, and also preparing and providing reports, including to the public;

Facilitator/ Conflict Resolver: Resolving conflicts and disputes through dialogue and facilitation.

Convener

Convening conversations among PPOs on issues of crucial importance identified by the NCF membership, and where sustained dialogue is required, e.g. funding mechanisms for PPOs; what constitutes a “political party,” and how it contributes to political life, and so on.

In 2012/2013, effort of NCF has been in building its role as an intermediary/consensus builder. As highlighted above effort of NCF concentrated in developing constitutive documents and has to initiate steps that consolidate on these initial beginnings. Three key documents were prepared by NCF and these include: Electoral Reform Proposals/ Amendments, NCF Action Plan, Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Organizations. Building on this initial work, and within the context of further strengthening NCF operations, a needs assessment of the key capacities that can be built for the effective operations of the forum vis-à-vis its constitutional role and mandate is considered.

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