Failure to make contributions on the floor of the House does not mean that MPs have failed in their mandate to represent their constituents, the Election Observer Group (Elog) has said.
This follows a report by Mzalendo Trust on Wednesday which revealed that 15 MPs have never spoken in Parliament since they were sworn in.
The MPs include Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), George Aladwa (Makadara), Samwel Arama (Nakuru Town West) and Karen Nyamu (Nominated) among others.
However, Elog’s National Coordinator Mulle Musau has come to their defense.
Speaking to the Star on Thursday, Mulle said what matters is the participation of the lawmakers in various issues that includes voting on motions and bills.
"Participation in Parliament is not just about the talking part. An MP can represent his/her constituents by voting on various bills on motions. Participation must be in terms of voting or house committees’’, Musau explained.
He added that it would be worrying if the said MPs never talked or participated in any of the house businesses in terms of voting or committees.
However, Mulle does not rule out their active participation on the floor of the House by making important contributions that concern their constituencies.
"The work of MPs is to represent their constituencies which includes delivering on their needs. This comes up during budget allocations. They need to contribute to how the national cake will be shared,’’ Musau said.
According to the scorecard, the most active members of the National Assembly were Makali Mulu (Kitui Central), Beatrice Elachi (Dagoretti North), James Nyikal (Seme) and Ken Chonga (Kilifi South).
Among the issues they raised were food security, drought and conservation of the environment.
