NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto have lost a bid to strike out provisions aimed at taming party hoping in the Political Parties Amendment Bill of 2021.
The lawmakers opposed provisions defining what actions constitute resignation from a party with the Registrar of Political parties given a wide mandate to make a determination on the same.
Under the proposed amendments, resignation and expulsion of an elected leader from a political party essentially means that one will have been deemed to have lost his seat thus create room for a by election.
The provision is aimed to cure the spectacle of elected leaders promoting the ideologies of another party outside the party they are formally registered.
The first attempt by Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa to delete Clause 10 of the bill in entirety which provides the procedure of when a member is deemed to have resigned from a party, flopped.
This is after 131 MPs voted for the amendments while 163 voted to reject the amendment.
“This clause runs the danger of being misused. We (Jubilee) have a pre-election agreement with UDA. We should not give opportunity for this clause to be misused and begin to chase members from their parties,” said Barasa while seeking to amend the clause.
“The amendment must be defeated because once you choose to support the ideology of one political party you must be making that choice by subscribing to the ideology of the party,” argued Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi.
The second attempt by Saku MP Dido Rasso to dilute the Clause 10 of the bill which gives direction on when a person is deemed to have resigned from the party was also defeated.
Rasso’s amendments were defeated after 163 MPs rejected the amendment even as 130 MPs voted in supported of amendment.
“Politics without principles is dangerous. The moment we became nomads we will have no principles to subscribe. When you have no ideologies, you should not serve Kenyans,” said Wajir North MP Abdisalan Ibrahim.
The third attempt by Garissa Township MP Aden Duale to only delete the provision stating that a person who promote ideologies of another party will be deemed to have resigned was also rejected by majority of MPs.
“This provision outlaws the political rights of an individual. You cannot create political parties owned by individuals that will cajole the individual members and the people they present. You see Jubilee now is in the hands of brokers and drunkards and now they are chasing Members,” stated Duale.
Only 128 MPs voted in favour of Duale’s amendment while 164 rejected his amendment.
The last attempt on clause 10 by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa was also shown the door.
Ichungwa, in his amendment, faulted the proposal to grant registrar of political parties the powers as an individual to determine whether a person has contravened the set-out laws on procedure of resignation in the Political Parties Amendment Bill of 2021.
“Who deems you to having promoted the ideals of another political party? As we vote we are giving power to one individual (registrar of political parties) to determine the contravention you are accused for. Even as you vote, vote with that in mind,” Ichungwa stated.
Despite the spirited fight by Ichungwa only 123 MPs voted for the amendment while 154 MPs voted against the amendment.
About The Author
