After many calls to the President to dissolve Parliament, he finally dissolve the 9th Parliament yesterday after signing some bills that were passed this month i.e. Finance Bill and the Employments Bill I talked about in a recent post, read here.
By this dissolution the real battle for the next government begins, we have been entertained by all manner of launch by the presidential candidates and their parties, PNU, ODM, ODM-K and KPP. Though the parties with presidential candidates are four, the race is said to be mainly for three. Notice parties in this election prefer three letter parties compared to those in 2002 NARC, FORD-K, FORD-P and KANU. Could be three is a lucky number in this elections and I hope it will be Kenya’s 3rd liberation like it has been said.
Our outgoing MPs in this parliament were well paid, we now wait for the house speaker Mr. Francis Ole Kaparo to officially declare their jobs vacant for them to re-apply for their lucrative jobs. The vacant positions are 210 posts but he will be sending 222 MPs home (12 were nominated). Just like previous elections, the posts have attracted applicants from all walks of life to the variety of parties. These positions are so lucrative such that applicants don’t mind paying high non-refundable nominations fees proposed by the parties.
Now is the time for interesting defections, politicians who had not defected will hop from one party to the other, some will stick to their parties. From the trend that has been the case in the past months, the party or parties that will suffer most is the President party PNU and its affiliate parties. The party that has been more on the receiving side is ODM and I imagine more joining them now.
The main task for the parties now is to organize nominations for the candidates who would stand on their parties for the 210 constituencies. There are also a number of posts for councilors for many wards. It will be tough and I hope it will be done in a democratic manner not like in the past.
After the nominations there will be more defections or fallouts. Those who do not win in the nominations will try their luck elsewhere. Some will remain with their choice parties even after loosing nominations, in the hope of being nominated by their parties after elections if they are lucky.
We now wait for ECK chairman Mr. Samuel Kivuitu to announce elections date. I can only conclude that Kenyan politics is an interesting drama that leaves people in suspense as to what will happen next.
Enjoy!
Quoting Sue :...After the nominations there will be more defections or fallouts. Those who do not win in the nominations will try their luck elsewhere..."
ReplyDeleteKibaki passes a very timely bill to ensure exactly that does not happen. That if you lose in the nominations, you can't jump ship and seek election on another party's ticket. Dudes will be forced to cut down on party-hopping.
I term the dissolution of parliament GOOD RIDDANCE of members of the 9th Kenyan national assembly and am surely happy that they will no longer serve as lawmakers.
ReplyDeleteIt is even a a greater good riddance to President Kibaki’s administration which deprived Kenyans of the first chance to change their country for the better.
I am surely glad that NARC administration will constitutionally only continue as a caretaker, barred from any major decisions until a new government is elected.
The Electoral Commission of Kenya will be expected to play a very critical role in the interim period and Kenyans can now see why President-waiting-to-be-voted-out-Kibaki disregarded the 1997 IPPG deal that would have allowed joint nominations to the ECK together with opposition parties.
It will never escape the minds of those Kenyans who have been needlessly killed, displaced, tear gased, deported, denied resources unfairly jailed just because it was a live broadcast or that the economy has recorved at 7% growth p.a.
Thank heavens!
PKW which bill is that, am not aware?
ReplyDeleteCan someone here enlighten me please or Phil if you can? Did the dissolution of parliament mean that the gova is not going to run? I thought the MPs go home and for gookness sake the ministers are in full control! And that Kimunyas, Michukis, Karuas are still there?
ReplyDeleteTo the best of my knoweldge, Safaricom IPO would have been done long before the dissolution if it ment that Mps go home and the Gova too...like Prezzo did in signing the last 11 bill to law.. ama nimechizi hapa?
Sue,I'm not surprised by the enormous research you and your team put into this blog before publishing your findings :0)
ReplyDeleteBut pleasantly surprised that this time you did not recycle some mass email in the name opinion.
For the love of the motherland, its called the Political Parties Bill.
Thanks PKW for doing what I have been trying with no success--teaching these people!
ReplyDeletePKW from the research I have done that bill was not amongst the bills signed by prezo. So party hopping ita endelea kama kawaida. Na vikii hapa si shule.
ReplyDeleteSue-alongside 10 other bills, Kibaki signed the Political Parties Bill into law. Where do you do your research?
ReplyDelete