Emman Omari
20 March 2008
Nairobi — At least 19 MPs failed to vote during the historic debate on the Constitutional Amendment Bill tabled in Parliament on Tuesday .
President Kibaki contributing to proceedings on the floor of the house on Tuesday. MPs unanimously voted in favour of the two bills creating the post of prime minister and entrenching a peace agreement in the constitution.
Most of those who failed to vote were from ODM. However, Sabatia MP Musalia Mudavadi defended them, saying there were various reasons why they did not vote. Some were time-barred and others were out of the country on official duties.
Earlier on Tuesday, there had been reports that some PNU and ODM-K MPs had planned to vote against the constitutional amendment on the grounds that it gave too much power to the proposed Prime Minister. However, no MP voted against the Bill which was supported by 200 MPs in the first stage and 197 in the second round.
The Tenth Parliament has 216 MPs, meaning that 19 did not vote in the final round. The two Bills, which included a constitutional amendment, paved the way for the formation of a grand coalition government.
Missed first vote
According to two lists presented to the Speaker of the National Assembly after voting, 16 MPs missed in the first vote where 200 MPs voted in favour of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill which created the posts of Prime Minister and two deputies.
However, some of the MPs who failed to vote during the first round voted at the final stage where the Bill was passed with the support of 197 MPs.
No MPs opposed the Constitutional Amendment Bill or abstained from voting for it. This means that those who did not vote were absent.
The constitutional Bill, which President Kibaki signed into law later the same evening, created the PM's post and entrenched the National Accord and Reconciliation Act in the Constitution.
The Reconciliation Act had earlier been passed by a simple majority on Tuesday evening. An ordinary Act of Parliament is not subjected to physical voting like a Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The Act provides for the sharing of power between the President and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga.
It also paved way for the President and Mr Odinga to name a new government, probably after the Easter holidays.
The two are expected to form a grand coalition that will bring together MPs from ODM, PNU, ODM-K and other parties in a power sharing agreement brokered by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.
On Tuesday evening, Aldai MP Sally Kosgei, for instance, voted at the final stage although she did not vote at the initial stage.
Seven MPs who failed to vote in the final round had voted in the first stage. They included Mr Martin Ogindo (ODM), Mr Ahmed Sugow (Kanu), Mr Calist Mwatela (ODM), Mr Peter Kenneth (PNU), Mr Francis Nyammo (PNU), Mr Isaac Muoki (ODM-K) and Mr Harun Mwau of PICK.
Locked out
Mr Mudavadi said: "A number of them were locked out of the Chamber when the bar was drawn." Usually, no MP is allowed into the Chamber once the bell summoning MPs is rang and the bars are drawn by parliamentary orderlies.
The MPs who voted in the first round but kept away in the final may have been time barred. Mr Mudavadi said: "Their failure to vote does not mean that they had opposed the historic constitutional amendment that has saved the country from collapsing."
An official at Parliament also confirmed that some MPs might have been barred after the quorum bell rang.
Eldoret East MP Margaret Kamar (ODM) and Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando - who were among those who did not vote - are in Brussels, Belgium, attending a conference.
The Tuesday session - which was attended by President Kibaki - unanimously passed the two laws.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
