Thursday, June 21, 2012

Parliament castigated over amendments


Parliament castigated over amendments


Written By:George Kithuka,    Posted: Thu, Jun 21, 2012
Various stakeholders have termed the move as selfish and unconstitutional
The Kenyan Parliament has come under sharp criticism for its amendments to the political parties and elections acts that have in effect weakened the laws that originally sought to restore sanity in the country's political affairs.
The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) now says the Attorney General and parliament have contravened the constitutional procedure in effecting the amendments and shall be seeking legal redress unless the president declines to assent to the amendments.
The legislators last night burnt the midnight oil to effect what is now viewed by various stakeholders as selfish and unconstitutional amendments to undermine the new constitutional dispensation.
The MPs exploited the statute law miscellaneous amendment bill that allows various minor amendments to multiple Acts to reverse some key provisions in the constitution.
Nyachae has termed the amendments as unconstitutional.
In a statement, he says, proposals for substantive amendments that impact on the implementation of the constitution should have followed the due procedure as outlined in article 261 of the constitution that requires the Attorney General to consult with the CIC in the preparation of any bill intended for implementation of the constitution before its tabling in parliament.
Nyachae says parliament breached the law and CIC will not relent in seeking legal interventions on the grounds of unconstitutionality unless the president intervenes by declining to assent to these amendments.
Parliament has also passed amendments to lower academic requirements for serving elected officials, to allow candidates seeking elective posts to seek more than one elective office and legalize party hopping by current members of parliament.
The amendments also allow election losers to be nominated by their parties, thus reducing the nomination slots set aside for special interest groups.

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