A day after he tabled his controversial Constitutional Amendment No. 2 Bill, 2017 for first reading, Igara West Member of Parliament Raphael Magyezi has said he will drop the bill if the people he represents reject it.

In a Tuesday sitting boycotted by opposition MPs, Magyezi tabled the controversial bill that, among other things, seeks to delete the upper age limit provided in article 102b to allow three-decade president Yoweri Museveni stand for president when Uganda next goes to the polls in 2021 – and possibly become the east African nation’s life president.

Magyezi’s bill also aims at reviewing article 104 (6) to increase the number of days within which the Electoral Commission is required to hold fresh polls if a presidential election result is cancelled, from 20 to 60 days.

The bill equally seeks to increase from 10 to 15 the number of days the amount time within which the results can be challenged.

After securing a certificate of financial implication, having his bill gazetted and read for the first time, Magyezi has told NTV Uganda that he would drop the bill if his Igara West people rejected it.

“If I go to my people and they overwhelmingly don’t support it, I will drop it,” Magyezi said.

“Every member of Parliament will be allowed to seek views from their people about the Age Limit Bill.”

But human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo argued that the bill was unpopular even in Igara West.

“I want to go with him, at my cost, to his constituency so that he can show me people who support this,” Opiyo said.

Magyezi also argued that the bill was not about Museveni, further reasoning that it was still possible to remove Museveni through elections.

“It is not my responsibility to establish candidates for the next election… It is important to realize that President Museveni can actually be removed by your vote.”

Tasked to explain why he was now fronting an idea he had rejected only a year ago, Magyezi said: “Sometimes when if I don’t support something and next time there is reason for me to support it; that’s what makes the brain active. Raphael is a consistent leader, I stand by what I say and move it to the end.”