Saturday, March 19, 2011

Polls: The final 12 months

Parliament buildings, Nairobi. Parliament resumed sitting on Tuesday.  File | NATION
Parliament buildings, Nairobi. Parliament resumed sitting on Tuesday. File | NATION 
By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com AND NJERI RUGENE nrugene@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Friday, March 18 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
  • Parliament resumes on Tuesday to begin the last full year of business during which it must enact key laws flowing from the Constitution. They include setting up the Supreme Court, electoral commission and passing Devolution law.

Parliament has exactly 12 months to pass five key Bills if the General Election will be held on August 14, 2012.
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And the countdown starts on Tuesday when the House resumes to a crowded diary. Top on the list is the enactment of four Bills which are critical to the implementation of the new Constitution.
These are the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Bill, the Elections Bill, the Devolution Bill, the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill and the Supreme Court Bill.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo challenged Parliament to expedite the process to avert an electoral constitutional crisis next year.
“The biggest challenge now is to pass the laws to ensure that we have institutions that will prepare for the elections. The two principals can ask Parliament to enact the laws within the timeline set by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC),” he said.
Mr Kilonzo declined to join the debate on the date of the next elections.
“That is a matter that will be interpreted at a later stage. We should not talk about it now because we have not done anything to prepare for the elections,” he warned.
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, who is the Leader of Government Business in the House, was optimistic MPs will pass the Bills.
“The Tenth Parliament has a date with history to ensure speedy implementation of the Constitution and every MP owes it to Kenyans to ensure that any legislation is thorougly debated and enacted,” he said.
Coalition partners PNU and ODM have been split over the trial of suspected masterminds of election violence at The Hague. There are fears the sideshows could be extended to Parliament, derailing debate on important national matters.
However, ODM Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo said MPs would rise above partisan interests.
Supervise next elections
“In my opinion, the more we get closer to 2012, the more likely sanity shall prevail in the House for the sake of the people. It is incumbent upon the Justice ministry to bring the laws to the House. MPs have no problem,” said the Gem MP.
The IIEC, which has until June to be wound up, has drafted a timetable of events that will culminate in elections being held any time from August next year.
Among the highlights is the enactment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Bill establishing the new body that will supervise the next polls.
Parliament should pass the Bill by April 8 and the President must assent to it in a week. This will pave way for the appointment of new commissioners, delimitation of new 80 constituencies and registration of voters.
“We have decided to speed up our exit so that there is no constitutional crisis come election day in August next year,” said Mr Davis Chirchir, an IIEC commissioner.
The IIEC Bill is one of the four draft laws that Mr Kilonzo has forwarded to Attorney General Amos Wako and the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution for scrutiny.
Party rivalry
Others are the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, the Supreme Court Bill and the Independent Offices Bill.

The Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, which is scheduled to be enacted by August, seeks to bring into force the constitutional provisions that will guide the conduct of parties — registration, nominations of candidates and raising of campaign money.

The Supreme Court is crucial to the elections since it is the institution that will resolve disputes on presidential elections. The proposed Bill states in part: “The Supreme Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and determine disputes relating to the elections to the office of the President.”
The draft Elections Bill has fallen captive of the peer rivalry in the House Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs where members want to kick out chairman Ababu Namwamba.
Said PNU Nominated MP George Nyamweya: “The vote of no confidence in Namwamba has delayed the committee’s work on the Bill. We call upon the Speaker to act quickly so that we can proceed with our work.”
The Bill sets parameters for managing elections under the new Constitution.
If the elections are held on August 14, 2012, then Parliament will be have to be dissolved by mid April next year.
The law requires that Parliament is dissolved 90 days to the General Election.
The new Constitution states that elections “shall be held on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year.”
Speaker makes history
“We shall abide with the Constitution and the next General Election shall be conducted in August 2012 and we expect Kenyans to exercise their constitutional right without any manipulation,” said PNU secretary general Kiraitu Murungi.
The Independent Offices Bill seeks to entrench County governments. The laws will guide election of the Speaker of County Assemblies, governors, and their removal from office, taxes to be levied and sharing of funds with the central government.
However, it was not immediately clear on when the Budget will be read next year if Parliament is dissolved in April. The date may be brought forward, breaking the tradition of having joint Budget days in the East African Community.
On Friday, Mr Marende formally recalled MPs from their two-week break.
In a special issue of the Kenya Gazette, he announced the House would resume to continue with the business of the Fourth Session of the Tenth Parliament.
This was the first time for the Speaker to recall Parliament. In the past, it has been the President’s prerogative to recall the House from recess for a new session. The new laws deny him the powers to prorogue Parliament at will.
However, the President is expected in Parliament on Tuesday —not for a State opening as has been tradition—but to present to the House his Government’s legislative agenda for the year.
According to the Standing Orders, the President’s statement will be heard in silence and thereafter it will be the subject of a four-day debate.
Mr Musyoka will table the statement as soon as it is read and later initiate debate on it.
In his notification on Friday, Mr Marende said he had recalled MPs on government request.
The request was made on Monday at a meeting between the President, the Speaker, National Assembly Clerk Patrick Gichohi, Mr Kilonzo and Mr Wako.

The Standing Orders, which came into operation in 2008, give the Speaker powers to recall Parliament from recess through a Gazette Notice on request of either the government or a petition by majority MPs.

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