Stormy Sessions Expected in Kenya Parliament

Following the swearing in of Kenya’s 10th parliament on Tuesday that saw the opposition win the speakers position, political analysts are predicting one of the most stormy sessions with an opposition majority in the house.

The government side under the Party of National Unity (PNU) won 43 seats in the parliamentary elections compared to the 99 seats won by the opposition Orange Democratic Movement.

ODM has three seats delivered to it by the National Rainbow Coalition party led by former minister for health, Charity Ngilu, who defected to ODM before the elections, bringing the opposition total to 102 seats.

Both ODM-K (which broke away from ODM) and the Kenya African National Union, which joined ranks with PNU to formed a government of national unity, have 16 and 14 seats respectively, bringing the government side to 73 seats.

There are 19 small parties that have a total of 34 seats and are expected to provide the swing votes and the government side will have to work hard to win them to their side to pass crucial bills.

Already analysts have raised fears that the government side lost to the opposition in elections for the speaker and his deputy, which may spell doom for economic legislation as the opposition may use its majority to frustrate government bills such as the budget and sessional papers.

However, it will not be easy for the opposition to pass a motion of no confidence against the government or any constitutional amendments, as it requires at least 65 percent of the 222 elected member, which means 148 MPs.

Source African Press Agency

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