Juliet Bashiisha Agasha is a Ugandan politician who has served in the

Parliament of Uganda The Parliament of Uganda is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Uganda. One of its primary functions is to pass laws that support effective governance in the country. Government ministers are required to answer to the people's represe ...

since 2021. Agasha represents the

Mitooma District itooma District is a district in Western Uganda. It is named after its main municipal, administrative and commercial center, Mitooma. Location Mitooma District is bordered by Bushenyi District to the north, Sheema District to the east, Ntungamo D ...

's reserved seat for women as a member of the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement (; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla war through its rebel wing National ...

Political career

In the

2011 Ugandan general election General elections were held in Uganda on 18 February 2011. Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) was re-elected for a third time, having been in power since 1986. The NRM also won 263 of the 375 seats in P ...

, Agasha ran as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

for the

in the

's reserved seat for women. Agasha faced Jovah Kamateeka of the

. Agasha was defeated by Kamateeka, receiving 19,971 votes compared to Kamateeka's 29,263 votes. In the

2016 Ugandan general election General elections were held in Uganda on 18 February 2016 to elect the President and Parliament. Polling day was declared a national holiday. Presidential candidates included incumbent Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, Kizza Besigye, who had ...

, Agasha again ran as an independent against Kamateeka. Though Agasha was again defeated, she lost by a smaller margin, receiving 32,032 votes compared to Kamateeka's 37,949. In the

2021 Ugandan general election General elections were held in Uganda on 14 January 2021 to elect the President and the Parliament. The Electoral Commission announced Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, the incumbent ruling since 1986, as the winner with 59% of the vote, alth ...

, Agasha ran against Kamateeka for a third time. Agasha narrowly defeated Kamateeka in the NRM primary, receiving 25,228 votes to 23,227. The primary reason for Kamateeka's loss was her age, with many primary voters stating they would prefer to see a new, younger representative in parliament. Despite her defeat in the primary, Kamateeka ran in the general election as an independent candidate. While Agasha's primary base of support was in the Ruhinda South constituency, Kamateeka was unable to coalesce a base of support due to a third candidate, independent Rebecca Kyarampe, splitting the vote with Kamateeka in several of her strongest areas. Agasha ultimately defeated Kamateeka and Kyarampe in the general election, receiving 34,736 votes compared to Kamateeka's 16,148 and Kyarampe's 13,974. During her tenure in parliament, Agasha has been credited with improving the economic conditions in the Mitooma District, while also advocating for

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

and

youth empowerment Youth empowerment is a process where children and young people are encouraged to take charge of their lives. They do this by addressing their situation and then take action in order to improve their access to resources and transform their consciou ...

. She serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Equal Opportunities Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agasha, Juliet Bashiisha Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) Members of the 11th Parliament of Uganda Women members of the Parliament of Uganda National Resistance Movement politicians 21st-century Ugandan women politicians Living people