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Parties dig in for Speaker’s job
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 23 January 2008 00:34
ODM MPs-elect and their allies will be confined to their hotel on the outskirts of Nairobi and move from there to Parliament while their rivals were in Naivasha. ODM yesterday said it had 104 MPs-elect on its side.
The coalition supporting the Government also announced they had a similar number of MPs.
Apart from the 99 elected ODM MPs, the three Narc MPs-elect Charity Ngilu, Charles Nyamai, Dr Robert Monda, UDM’s Prof Peris Sambili and PDP’s Momoima Onyonka were at the hotel.
Deputy Speaker
In Naivasha, MPs supporting the Government were exuding confidence that their candidate, Mr Francis ole Kaparo, will sail through.
They announced that they would support Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara of Chama Cha Umma (CCU) for the post of deputy Speaker.
During the two-day consultations at Simba Lodge, the MPs also announced they had picked Juja MP-elect George Thuo for the post of Government chief whip.
“We have already done an audit and established that we have the majority on the floor of the House,” coalition spokesperson Mutula Kilonzo of ODM-K told journalists in Naivasha yesterday.
ODM is backing Emuhaya MP-elect Kenneth Marende for Speaker.
ODM MPs-elect have been going through a training session since Sunday on Parliamentary procedures.
Pentagon leaders Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi, Charity Ngilu, William Ruto and Najib Balala have been holed up at the hotel for bonding.
Mr Marende exuded confidence that he would win and pledged to remain non-partisan in discharging his duties if elected. He said Mr Kaparo had overstayed in that position without bringing meaningful changes to the House.
Staff welfare
He said in the Commonwealth practice Speakers do not serve more than 10 years and “since we are a product of the system it is totally unbearable to have one person for 20 years.”
Mr Marende said live broadcast of parliamentary sessions will be introduced and changes made to the standing orders. He said electronic voting in Parliament was a fundamental necessity which the previous House did not consider despite overwhelming support for its institutional and staff welfare.
He dismissed claims that if he is elected, PNU and affiliate party MPs will not be sworn. “The Speaker has a constitutional mandate to swear in all MPs elect gazetted by the government through the Electoral Commission of Kenya,” he said.
Mr Marende noted that he had successfully practised as a lawyer for the last 28 years and his record on independence of mind, impartiality and patriotism could not be faulted.
The Emuhaya MP -elect said the 10th Parliament stands at a critical moment in the lives of Kenyans when democracy is “highly threatened by the rich and powerful so MPs being the voices of the people should speak and bring back to life the rule of law.”
Members of the small parties also attended the meeting.
According to Mr Kilonzo, the small parties were PNU affiliates.
New coalition
“They are between 12 and 15 parties,” he said, adding that they have reached undisclosed agreement with the small parties in their new coalition.
However, Mr Kilonzo said they are still reaching out to more MPs from other parties outside the coalition.
“I can tell you firmly that some are still on the way,” he said.
Yesterday’s consultative meeting was also attended by the Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and ministers Uhuru Kenyatta (Local Government), Martha Karua (Justice), Wilfred Machage (East African Cooperation), Dr Naomi Shaban (Special Programmes), Samuel Poghisio (Information).
