 Having failed to go to parliament in 2011, Mbidde saw a loophole in Uganda's East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) representation which then favored the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement, and so sought court redress and lobbied for the inclusion of more opposition party members.On succeeding in court, he was voted in on the DP ticket though in controversial circumstances and has been an EALA MP since June 2012.He serves on three EALA committees, the Committee on Communication, Trade and Investments, the Committee on Legal, Rules and Privileges and the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution.