Sunday, August 28, 2011

New limit for 2012 presidential hopefuls



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Presidential candidates have been barred from defending their parliamentary seats. Those eyeing State House will also not be allowed to vie for either the post of governor or senator. This is after MPs rejected an amendment to the Election Bill 2011 which sought to give presidential candidate the chance to also vie for any other post during an election.
And to complicate life for presidential candidates, Parliament passed a law that they must be degree holders - same as their running mates, governors and deputy governors. The MPs however rejected a requirement that they also be degree holders. Senators and county representatives will also not be required to be degree holders.
On presidential candidates, MPs rejected an amendment which had been introduced by Garsen MP Danson Mungatana that would have given such candidates an option of also vying either as MP, governor, senator or county representative. This means that all those who will vie for presidency in 2012 and lose will not have any elective post come 2013.
It also means that their political parties will have difficulties in nominating them back to Parliament since Article 97 of the new constitution states that the 12 nomination posts for parties should go directly to persons who “represent special interests including the youth, persons with disabilities and workers”.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto are expected to vie for presidency next year. Others are Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth, Mutava Musyimi and Eugene Wamalwa. “The constitution was on the basis that we wanted a fundamental change,” said Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo leading MPs in defeating the amendment to allow presidential candidates to vie for other posts. On degrees, MPs refused that they all be degree holders.
The House was forced to go for a division where 56 objected to the requirement, 38 approved while 3 abstained. Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa) said requiring MPs, senators and county assembly representatives to have degrees was going to lock out many Kenyans from participating in elective posts.
Mutava Musyimi also said such a rule will block many Kenyans from elective politics. “We have a lot of capable people in this country who need to be in Parliament and do not have degrees,” said Musyimi. Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula, opposing, said the House should not be “an alumni of universities”.
David Koech (Mosop), who chairs the education committee, had supported the amendment saying MPs were vetting many highly qualified people hence they needed also to have university degree. He said MPs had set high standards for commissioners in various commissions but were acting differently when matters of academic qualifications touched them. Bonny Khalwale (Ikolomani) said MPs were overprotective when it came to matters touching on them. “We must move away from legislating on what only protects the interests of this House,” said Khalwale.
Further, male MPs ganged to defeat for a clause that required a political party to ensure that not more than two-thirds of its nominees for elective posts are of the same gender. Women MPs led by Gichugu MP Martha Karua had put a spirited fight to ensure the clause is inserted but were defeated.
But male MPs termed such a requirement as “populist” whose implementation was not practical. They said in a democratic country, voters cannot be forced to vote for persons of only one gender. Lawmakers further made it easier for party hopping ahead of an election. The lawmakers deleted Clause 32 (2) which stipulated that “a person who has participated as a candidate in the nomination or selection of candidates of a political party shall not be eligible for a nomination as candidate by another party.”
This means that a candidate who loses in the nominations can decamp and be granted a nomination ticket by a rival political party ahead of an election. Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo at one point complained that the House was diluting the Bill as well as what is envisaged in the new constitution.

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