What ought to be done to restore Parliament’s standing

Parliament in session during the 2016 budget day. [Photo by Boniface Okendo/Standard]

It is said Parliament is sovereign; that its members derive the power they wield directly from the people. That assumption has faced its severest test ever in the 11th and 12th Parliaments. The actions and utterances from those elected to Parliament evoke a sense of foreboding that something has gone utterly wrong with our democracy. And that the Legislature, the third arm of government, is its weakest link.

Parliament’s lowest moment yet came last week during the vetting of nominees to Cabinet. To say that the exercise was a charade is an understatement. With NASA MPs staying away from the exercise, it was expected that their Jubilee counterparts would labour to create a semblance of legitimacy in the process. Alas, they did not.