Tyranny of numbers is Jubilee's democratic right

The final tallies for the 2013 March general elections gave Jubilee coalition a numerical strength over the Cord coalition in both the Senate and the national parliament. Having a tyranny of numbers in both houses is in itself not a crime. It means that Jubilee was smarter politically and therefore had managed to win many senate and parliamentary seats with a commanding majority.

Every presidential candidate should aspire to have a commanding majority in parliament so as he/she can rule with ease. When the opposite happens, the winning president suffers untold setbacks. The governing party gets frustrated by opposition especially when it comes to key bills touching on service delivery. It is therefore fair that a government worthy its salt must garner enough votes and have a commanding majority in parliament.

I would like to remind Cord that in democracy, minority have their say while the majority have their way. Kenya is a Democratic country. It therefore implies that decisions are made by the majority. That is the same tenet within which the two houses operate. Often the speakers make this statement when concluding on a parliamentary matter: ' Will as many with similar opinions...' And just like that, the speakers settle a weighty matter through acclamation. The minority are always given a chance to have their say but the majority are given the way. A bill is simply passed by the majority.

The two parliamentary houses recognize this reality. The winning coalition controls the houses through the seats of Majority Leaders. The losing coalition, similarly chairs the seats of the Minority Leaders. That is democracy. Jubilee should not be condemned for having tyranny of numbers in parliament. They worked for it.

It is therefore self-defeatist for the opposition to claim they cannot trust parliament because Jubilee controls both houses. Whose fault is it that Jubilee won majority seats? Which law did Jubilee break by marshalling more MPs to parliament than Cord?

The constitution is very clear on the way to remove IEBC commissioners. They cannot be removed by mass action. Mass action and picketing are democratic rights. It is not a privilege of any party. All Kenyans are entitled to them. And the same constitution says the views of the majority will make the ultimate decision.

The Jubilee MPs seems to have been silenced by a few vocal Cord MPs. Their numerical strength is hardly felt. Majority do not seem to have the slightest clue on what is happening around them. Their tyranny does not match their voice. Only a handful are always defending their generals. The rest take cover when one Cord MP shouts.

I just discovered and painfully so, you could have the numbers but fail to have a strategy. In the mean time I disagree that there is comfort in numbers. One would think that Cord has more numbers than Jubilee. How can a handful of Cord MPs simply outnumber a tyranny of numbers!

Ashford Kimani, a teacher in Kiambu County, is a budding politician.