National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula declared that Kenya Kwanza constitutes the majority in the House.
Moreover, the ruling delivered on Thursday, October 6, by speaker Wetangula decreed that the President William Ruto-led coalition has 179 members in the House against Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition’s 157.
Wetangula noted that the document from the Registrar of Political Parties state that Azimio la Umoja One Kenya party had 26 political parties while Kenya Kwanza had 15, as at April 21, 2022.
The speaker further said that going by the data, Azimio then had 171 Members of Parliament while Kenya Kwanza had 165.
However, Wetangula noted that several Azimio members had since formally written to his office to denounce their association with Azimio.
The members who defaulted to Kenya Kwanza are 14 MPs drawn from 4 parties, namely United Democratic Movement (UDM), Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG), Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC), Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).
According to Wetangula, the 14 have filed Constitutional petitions and objections against their membership in theRaila Odinga-led outfit, seeking to instead be enjoined with Kenya Kwanza.
“Allegations were made by a number of members on alleged coercion and duress while entering into agreements with one of the coalitions. This, if true, is a serious affront to the democratic rights and freedoms that we enjoy in this country,” Wetangula stated.
“With the 14 members, the membership of the Kenya Kwanza coalition stands at 179 members, while the membership of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party stands at 157. This, by implication, indicates that the Kenya Kwanza coalition I the majority party, and the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party is the minority party in this House.” He added.
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Furthermore, Speaker Wetangula slammed Azimio for what he termed as contesting for the National Assembly’s majority status through its “second skin.”
Wetangula also cited that no member was elected or nominated to Parliament on an Azimio ticket, but rather those of the various constituent parties that make up the coalition party.
However, by fielding a presidential ticket under the Azimio banner, Wetangula said it is not clear whether the Odinga-led outfit is a political party or a coalition of political parties.
“In the last General Election, it is evident that Azimio la Umoja One Kenya elected to behave as several political parties in certain categories of elections, and as one political party with regard to the election of the president. It is without doubt that if it were to be considered as a political party, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party has no elected member in this House today, as no member was elected under its banner,” he said.
Nonetheless, the Speaker also threw out Azimio’s argument that members could only exit the coalition party three months after the General Election, adding that it is not compliant with the Political Parties Act.
He further stated that members can join and leave a coalition at will, with the only requirement being a written notice to the Registrar of Political Parties.
“The Political Parties Act does not engage in the substantive limitations of rights, but only deals with procedural exercise of those rights, in terms of timeline. Indeed, architecture of the Act is that timelines are only prescribed with respect to activities that fall before the election date, which seem to be related to the management of the election calendar,” stated Wetangula.
