- Their allies are facing off with those of the President and ODM leader Raila Odinga in the war of numbers over the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
- On Monday, Ruto maintained his troops will oppose the Bill, essentially setting the stage for a showdown on the floor.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The new pact between Deputy President William Ruto and ANC boss Musalia Mudavadi could complicate the passage of the coalition political parties bill as the debate begins in the Senate.
Their allies are facing off with those of President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga in the war of numbers over the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
On Monday, Ruto maintained that his troops will oppose the Bill, setting the stage for a showdown on the floor.
“There are parties being sponsored and were created not to win an election but to mask the ugly past of parties. There are parts in the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill that are unconstitutional,” he said.
The DP spoke after chairing UDA Parliamentary Group meeting where among others, the leaders endorsed the party’s deal with ANC.
The DP said they will propose changes to "offensive and unconstitutional clauses" in the Bill.
The Uhuru and Raila teams have maintained they will push for the passage of the document without any amendments.
The Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that last week conducted public participation will this afternoon table a report on the Bill, opening the way for a grueling debate.
The panel, chaired by Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni was on Tuesday holed up in a marathon session to beat the deadline ahead of the tabling of the report.
The nine-member committee will either propose amendments to the bill or recommend to the House to pass it as is.
“We are yet to conclude the work but we want to finish it today and beat the deadline,” Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, a member of the committee, told the Star.
On Monday, Speaker Kenneth Lusaka gazetted a three-day special sitting, from Tuesday through Thursday when a vote will be taken to determine the outcome of the controversial Bill.
The Bill seeks to anchor Raila’s Azimio la Umoja movement as a coalition political party. The former prime minister intends to use the outfit as his vehicle for the State House race.
But the DP’s allies have opposed it as legislation designed to ‘make’ Raila the president.
Uhuru and Raila have overwhelmed Ruto before in the Senate.
However, with the DP teaming up with Mudavadi and Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang'ula, the handshake partners will have to put their best foot forward and lobby vigorously to overcome the threat.
An analysis by the Star shows that handshake-leaning elected senators number about 28 – Jubilee and ODM senators loyal to Uhuru and Raila.
The DP, on the other hand, has 16 elected senators allied to his UDA while Mudavadi has three. Ford Kenya has one senator.
Without proper coordination and whipping, the handshake team could be given a run for their money, especially if the Ruto-Mudavadi wing reaches out to senators seen as 'neutral'.
They will likely frustrate the passage of the Bill as it's urgent to put the law in place to effect Azimio La Umoja coalition party.
At least 24 delegations (elected senators) will be required to vote in favour of the Bill for it to be sent to the President for assent.
(Edited by V. Graham)