• What people know about is the presidential system, which they are used to.
• One must go out there and explain the merits and demerits of the Prime Minister’s position and why you need the system changed.
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Part of the reason the majority of Kenyans do not want the creation of a Prime Minister's position is lack of information.
The position has not been properly explained. Kenyans do not understand the position, its demerits and merits as well. By nature, Kenyans are very conservative. We are used to the status quo.
What people know about is the presidential system, which they are used to. One must go out there and explain the merits and demerits of the Prime Minister’s position and why you need the system changed.
Once that is done and the information is out there, you will see the numbers change. The issue of a Prime Minister doesn’t mean executive powers. What we are talking about is an expanded Executive and not just talking about a PM per se.
We will be talking about an executive that is expanded and more accommodating and inclusive. If Kenyans are agreed that we need a referendum, then what it means is that we have some general consensus. From there, we must agree about the issues around the referendum and what it is going to be about.
Once the information is distilled out there and the issues are framed you are likely to see numbers changing significantly. We may not necessarily mean that we are going to have a parliamentary system; we may end up adapting an hybrid one – like French one where you have the president elected directly and who then appoints a prime minister who is the head of government.
The one Kenyans are against is a pure parliamentary system where you have an executive prime minister. The general feeling is that we don't need a pure parliamentary system. We need a blend of parliamentary and presidential systems where Kenyans will retain their right to elect their President through the popular vote.
The President will then appoint a prime minister who will be the head of government with one or two deputies. That will make Kenyans feel included in government and will address the issues to do with inclusion and marginalisation.
It's too early to talk about whether Kenyans approve of a presidential system or not before the issues are framed and explained.
The political analyst spoke to the Star