Kenyan MPs reject bill on change of 2017 General Election date

An attempt by some MPs to push for the extension of their parliamentary term has flopped. This is after the lawmakers failed to muster the requisite numbers to propel to the next legislative step a bill to amend the Constitution to change the election date from August to December.

While the Constitution stipulates the General Election is held on the second Tuesday of August every five years, Ugenya MP David Ochieng had wanted to push the date to December through his Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2015.

Kenya Young Parliamentarian Association, Secretary General and Ugenya MP David Ochieng address the participants during the conference at the Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi on 23/09/14.              (PHOTO: PIUS CHERUIYOT/STANDARD)

The proposed law was popular among MPs but when it was put to a vote, 216 members supported it but it fell short of the requisite 233 votes.

“Twenty of the members who voted against my bill were from ODM,” claimed Ochieng, who expressed regret that Kenyans will have to deal with the consequences of voting in August.

Ochieng (pictured) also said he would appeal to the Speaker of the National Assembly to return the vote to the House on a technicality under Standing Order 116.

Besides meaning that Kenyans go to polls in August, the failure of the bill to pass through also means that MPs who had hoped to have an extra three months in office will have to settle with leaving office as currently prescribed in the Constitution.

The bill had raised controversy, with MPs being split on the wisdom of extending the election date. Ochieng had argued that the August date is too crowded with activities for Kenyans to effectively exercise their democratic right. He had cited the school calendar and the high tourist season during the period.

But Opposition politics appeared to have infiltrated the voting patterns in the House, with the mover of the motion claiming that his bill had fallen through due to lack of support from members of his own party.

The weeks leading to the passage of the bill had been filled with political undertones, with Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga saying he did not support the bill. His key lieutenants in the House, including Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi, had also labelled the bill ‘a Jubilee creation.’

Meanwhile, MPs could become immune to prosecution after a bill protecting them from prosecution went through the Second Reading.

MPs’ immunity

The Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill by Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma was supported by a majority of the MPs who argued that, as legislators, they are entitled to immunity in the performance of their parliamentary duties.

Kaluma managed to convince the MPs that the performance of their duties is a patriotic duty that needs to be cushioned from the vagaries of the law.

“The biggest role of an MP is representation. If I go to my constituency and find people protesting and I stop to listen to their views, no one should arrest me on charges of incitement. The intention of the bill is to protect MPs who carry out their functions in good faith,” said Kaluma.

There are, however, fears that a law offering such immunity could encourage rogue MPs to break the law under the guise of performing their parliamentary duties.

Should the bill become law, it will also block judges from interfering with parliamentary business.

Further, governors won the first round in the administration of the Sh3.4 billion Equalisation Fund after a proposed law to have the kitty managed at the constituency level was lost in the National Assembly.

The Constitution of Kenya amendment Bill sponsored by Lati Lelelit (Samburu West) seeks to amend Article 204 of the Constitution to ensure money allocated to 14 marginalised counties is managed at the constituency instead of the national level.