Law experts settle on hybrid system

The Committee of Experts on the new constitution will on Friday present a draft proposing a hybrid system of government to the Parliamentary Select Committee.

This comes after the experts once again failed to reach consensus on whether they should propose a purely parliamentary or presidential system.

The experts who have been reviewing the draft in line with submissions presented by the public since Monday, have also reduced the levels of devolution to two — a national government and county governments.

The committee has also left intact the proposal to have a parliament with two houses — national assembly and senate.

Attracted interest

By Wednesday evening, the team was discussing the judiciary which has also attracted a lot of interest after the experts proposed a radical surgery of the current system. The system of government has been a major contention in the review process with the country sharply divided on whether to have a parliamentary or a presidential system.

The experts settled on a hybrid system as a compromise but this was met with controversy when they published the draft. While the hybrid system seems to have generally come to be accepted, the contention now is who between the President and the Prime Minister will wield executive authority.

However, it was unclear by Wednesday evening whether the experts had come up with mechanisms to guard against conflict between the two offices. The proposed system has received criticism in and outside political circles with most arguing that it would be a recipe for chaos and confusion.

Sources indicate that the committee has decided to leave it to the PSC led by Mandera Central MP Mohammed Abdikadir to build consensus on the draft. For 30 days from Friday, the debate will shift to the 27-member PSC which is expected to reach consensus on the various contentious issues before the document is tabled before the House.

Elsewhere, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has said that a constitution that is agreeable to the majority of Kenyans across the political divide would be presented in the referendum. The VP said he was confident that Kenyans would not be subjected to heightened political tension ahead of the referendum as was witnessed in 2005 when the draft constitution was rejected.

According to him, parliamentarians have no other option but to give Kenyans a constitution that will be acceptable to the majority. He was speaking on Wenesday after touring parts of Mogotio and Rongai districts which experienced flooding and displacement of people at the weekend.

Additional reporting by Noah Cheploen