• Omanga appeared before Jubilee's disciplinary committe on Wednesday to explain why she failed to attend the Parliamentary Group meeting convened by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
• She said she did not receive the invite.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
Five Senators will battle for the vacant Senate Deputy Speaker’s position after nominated lawmaker Millicent Omanga dropped out of the race.
The seat fell vacant following the removal of Tharaka Nithi senator Kithure Kindiki by a majority vote last Friday.
The five beat the Friday, 3pm deadline to return their nomination papers together with their credentials and relevant supporting documents.
They are Steward Madzayo (Kilifi –ODM), Charles Kibiru (Kirinyaga – Independent), Isaac Mwaura (nominated – Jubilee), Margaret Kamar (Uasin Gishu – Jubilee) and Judith Pareno (nominated –ODM).
The five, alongside Omanga, had picked their nomination papers as at close of the business on Thursday as directed by speaker Kenneth Lusaka and clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye.
However, Omanga failed to return her nomination papers by 3pm Friday as guided by the speaker and clerk.
“As at the close of nomination period, a total of five nomination powers for election to the office of Deputy Speaker had been returned to the office of the clerk of the senate,” Nyegenye said in a statement on Friday.
Nyegenye said that all the five who beat the deadline met the criteria and have therefore been duly nominated for the election to the office of Deputy Speaker of the senate pursuant to the House standing orders.
“The election shall be held at the sitting of the Senate scheduled to be held on June 2, 2020 at 2.30pm,” Nyegenye said.
According to the Standing Orders, a candidate wins the seat of the speaker or deputy speaker if he gets two-thirds of the votes.
Should one fail to marshal the requisite number of votes in the first round of the voting, candidates with the first and second-highest number of votes will contest in the second round of voting.
Here, the candidate who gets the majority of the votes will be declared the winner.
Kindiki was removed from the position over claims of insubordination after he skipped President Uhuru Kenyatta’s meeting at State House on May 11.
Some 54 ‘handshake’ senators – allied to the president and ODM leader Raila Odinga – voted to remove him with only seven – Deputy President William Ruto’s-leaning lawmakers opposing his ouster.
Going by last Friday’s vote, a candidate backed by the ‘handshake team’ will easily sail through in the first round of voting.