Parliament seeks to give lifeline to presidential poll losers

Losers could also be winners.

MPs are seeking to give presidential poll losers a soft landing to enhance inclusivity and eliminating the winner-take-all scenarios blamed for perennial post-poll violence.

In a bill tabled in the National Assembly, the Constitutional Implementation and Oversight Committee (CIOC) wants presidential poll losers and their running mates nominated — as a first priority — to either House of Parliament.

The Constitutional amendment Bill sponsored by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni proposes the presidential candidate and their running mate must be the first and second, respectively, on the nomination list. Kioni chairs the committee.

Political parties proportionately nominate 20 people to the Senate and 12 to the National Assembly.

Kioni, who was ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi’s running mate in 2013, said the aim of the Bill is to help realise inclusivity after the presidential poll, which has inevitably been a do-or-die affair under the current presidential system.

“This bill seeks to cure such eventualities and ensure the country remains united after general elections. It will also ensure national unity and participation of the people,” Kioni told the Star.

Inclusivity is on the nine-point agenda of the Building Bridges Initiative task force. It is to be presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

Under the current system, presidential candidates who lose have no place in government, a situation that some legal experts have termed the “constitutional mistakes of Naivasha”, where the current constitution was 'harmonised'.

"We now have an awkward situation where opposition leaders consult with their MPs in hotels,” Nzamba Kitonga recently told the CIOC. He chaired the Committee of Experts that midwifed the current Constitution.

Kitonga said it was unfortunate that MPs had expunged from the harmonised draft Constitution the Office of Leader of the Official Opposition and proposal that a presidential candidate could simultaneously contest a National Assembly or a Senate seat.

“A person and a party with the support of over five million voters cannot be overlooked just because it lost the election. Such a party must be given the honour of oversight in governance and the right to constitute an alternative government. The leader of such a party would be in Parliament to lead his troops. In the wake of the ‘handshake’, the importance of this office is clear to all,” Kitonga said.

Political leaders were divided on Thursday on the significance of the Bill.

National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale said the Kioni proposal mirrors what he has pushed for in the quest for a parliamentary system of governance.

He said that in a country divided along ethnic lines — something BBI was created to correct — the presidential system is no longer tenable.

“We cannot have a presidential candidate and his running mate with close to six million voters going home like mama mboga after they lose an election,” the Garissa Township MP said.

“We must entrench the office of the leader of opposition in the Constitution so that the party leaders can command their troops from within the House,” the lawmaker said.

He argued that the current dispensation has seen the opposition fragmented and disjointed — especially since 2013.

“For an effective, efficient, vibrant, and strong opposition, the leader must be recognised in the Constitution and allocated resources by Parliament,” Duale told the Star.

Majority Whip Benjamin Washiali asked, “How do we let a leader of a party just disappear into oblivion after losing an election?”

He said a parliamentary audit of the Constitution was needed to ascertain whether it's working for the people.

“I think part of this is what Kioni is trying to deal with in this Bill,” the Mumias East MP said.

ODM called the Bill an attempt to scuttle the BBI process and termed it “an unnecessary distraction".

Secretary general Edwin Sifuna told the Star that the very principle of inclusivity that the legislation attempts to address is already factored into the BBI.

“Our position remains the same, we are waiting for the BBI process where Kenyans have expressed themselves on how they want to address the issues of inclusivity,” he said.

“What this committee is trying to do is to usurp what Kenyans have proposed for lasting peace in the country. We are aware the chairman of the said committee has been hell-bent on scuttling the BBI process.”

In the old dispensation, it was mandatory for presidential candidates to contest for the presidency.

During his speech at Chatham House in London, Deputy President William Ruto said it was not proper that such party leaders have no formal constitutional role.

He deplored the situation where "the winner ascends to a formally constituted leadership role while the runner-up becomes a virtual stranger in leadership.”

“I further propose that with the Leader of Opposition taking leadership of the opposition in Parliament, the Deputy President should then take over the Leadership of Government Business in Parliament,” the DP said. He called for a similar system in county governments.

However, under the current Constitution, candidates with a massive following have no place in government, let alone Parliament.

Raila and Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka — who was his running mate in the 2013 and 2017 elections — had to go home after they lost.

This was despite their commanding more than 47 per cent of the votes cast in the elections. This loosely translates to the support of more than six million voters.

A similar scenario played out in 2017.

After the 2013 loss, there was a  push for two MPs to resign, triggering by-elections that the two leaders would contest and win.

At some point, Raila was pushed to contest as Senator for Homa Bay following the death of Senator Otieno Kajwang'.

He declined.

Kalonzo was also persuaded to contest, unsuccessfully, the Makueni senatorial seat after the death of Wiper SG Mutula Kilonzo.