Business Daily (Nairobi)
Jim Onyando
7 January 2008
President Kibaki has directed Parliament to open on January 15 as Opposition leader Raila Odinga called off today's political rallies to allow mediation efforts by foreign dignitaries to start.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 58(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, I appoint that a new session of Parliament shall be held at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, and shall begin on the 15th January, 2008, at 2.30 o'clock in the afternoon" said a legal notice signed by President Kibaki yesterday.
President Kibaki was sworn in on December 30, after the Electoral Commission pronounced him the winner of the hotly contested presidential elections.
Mr Odinga, the ODM presidential candidate, has since refused to recognise Kibaki's re-election, saying the poll was rigged. This sparked violence in parts of the country including Nairobi.
Parliament will convene against a backdrop of post-election violence that has killed more than 400 people and displaced a further 255,000 mostly in the Rift Valley, Nyanza and Nairobi.
A flurry of diplomatic activity has managed to cool off riots in most parts of the country.
Nairobi and major towns have come back to life as businesses opened yesterday.
President Kibaki's naming of the beginning of the new session of Parliament means that he has less than a week to name his Cabinet that will handle business in the National Assembly.
The first day of the life of the 10th Parliament will be used in electing a Speaker who will swear-in the 210 elected MPs and 12 others who will be nominated by Parliamentary political parties.
The Electoral Commission is mandated by law to distribute the 12 slots to political parties depending on their strength in Parliament.
Orange Democratic Party and its Narc affiliate have 102 seats in Parliament, PNU and its affiliates have 78 MPs while ODM-K has 16 MPs. The PNU coalition constitutes Kanu , Safina, Narc-Kenya, Ford People and New Ford Kenya.
ODM will nominate six MPs while PNU will nominate three to Parliament. ODM-K, Kanu and Safina will each nominate one member to serve in the new session of Parliament.
Speaking after meeting US envoy Jendayi Frazer, Mr Odinga told journalists that his party was assured that the mediation process was about to start.
"There will be no public rallies tomorrow" said Mr Odinga.
Ghana's President and chair of AU John Kufuor is expected in Nairobi today to start the mediation process.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said yesterday that more than 3,000 Kenyans have crossed into Uganda to escape the post-election violence in Western Kenya.
The government has said that 486 people have been killed.
UNHCR spokesperson Emmanuel Nyabera said yesterday that Kenyans feeling into Uganda had registered as refugees.
The cancellation of the ODM rallies came as an emergency response team of the UNHCR arrived in Nairobi from Geneva to assess the humanitarian crisis.
"Humanitarian crisis resulting from the political violence could get out of hand" said Nyabera.
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