•The Clause compels parties intending to form a coalition to submit their coalition agreement to the Registrar of Political Parties six months to the general election.
•That means any coalition agreement should be submitted by next month.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Garissa Township MP Aden Duale has said the proposed changes to the Political Parties Act may not materialise in time for the August elections.
Duale told the proponents of the bill not to celebrate yet as the process of having the proposed legislation into law is protracted and may end up dragging for months on the floor of the bicameral House.
The MP cited Clause 8(b) of the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021,which he said makes the proposal time-barred for the election.
The clause compels parties intending to form a coalition to submit their coalition agreement to the Registrar of Political Parties six months to the general election.
That means any coalition agreement should be submitted by next month.
However, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee which was considering the bBill in its report to the House reduced the period of submission of the coalition agreement to four months.
“What is interesting are the timelines for passing the bill, which may create handicaps. How shall this play out now that the bill is still under consideration and the clock is ticking?” Duale said.
He said the journey to have the bill into law may take considerable time between the two Houses of Parliament.
“The Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021 is a bill concerning county governments within the meaning of Article 110(1) of the Constitution and shall hence require to be passed by both Houses of Parliament,” Duale said.
“In this case, assuming the bill is passed by the National Assembly, the bill must subsequently be forwarded to the Senate for further consideration.”
He said the bill will have to undergo all the stages including public participation once it lands in the Senate.
“Assuming the bill undergoes all the stages and is passed by the Senate, it must then be resubmitted back to the National Assembly for consideration,” Duale said.
“If the Senate passes the bill with amendments and the National Assembly disagrees with the Senate on the amendments, then the bill shall have to undergo the mediation process that must take place within 30 days.”
Duale’s statement came on the backdrop of a third special sitting to consider the bill currently in the Committee of the Whole House stage.
The special sitting is scheduled to run through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Star has established a plot by pro-Ruto MPs to frustrate the passage of the bill through sponsorship of an avalanche of amendments.
By Tuesday, at least five MPs had moved new amendments to the bill sponsored by Majority Leader Amos Kimunya.
They are George Kariuki (Ndia), Nixon Korir (Lang'ata), Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu), Cecil Mbarire (nominated) and Dido Rasso (Saku).
DP’s allies have opposed the bill, saying it is being rushed to force restive One Kenya Alliance principals into an alliance ahead of the August polls.
The Tangatanga team has said the bill gives the Registrar of Political Parties more powers over political parties without offering a window for oversight.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris