MPs in plot to force a deal in law draft talks

A group of back-bench MPs is planning to reject the extremist stance taken by the big political parties and force a compromise at the consensus talks called by the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution.

The MPs, who are members of the PSC and from various political parties, said they will be not swayed by the “hard-line positions” taken by the Party of National Unity and its coalition partner, the Orange Democratic Movement.

Powerful prime minister

ODM tends to favour a parliamentary, with a powerful prime minister elected by MPs. PNU says it wants a presidential system, where the president will be powerful, but checked by other institutions.

A PSC retreat to hammer out an agreement begins in Naivasha Monday.

Clamour for two drafts — one proposing a Presidential system of government and the second a Parliamentary arrangement — is gaining currency among MPs, who are not members of the PSC, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and civil society.

On Sunday, ministers and MPs who form the 26-member select committee on the review chaired by Mandera Central MP Mohamed Abdikadir started arriving at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha for the six-day talks.

The retreat is meant to arrive at a compromise on the contentious issues, among them the form of government the country will adopt, and emerge with a document that will be acceptable to MPs in Parliament and Kenyans at the referendum.

On Sunday, MPs Martha Karua, Isaac Ruto and Jeremiah Kioni asked back-bench members of the team to take their own positions on the contentious issues, and not party positions.

Held hostage

She said the retreat will not be held hostage by the positions of the two coalition partners, and urged members of the PSC to give priority to Kenyans. The outcome of the retreat, said the Gichugu MP, should not be “quick fixes” to the rivalry between PNU and ODM.

Mr Ruto said they will be guided by the wishes of Kenyans and not the interests of their political parties. The members, he said, will not be bullied into taking partisan positions.

“We are not going there as parties, we are not going to accept procrastination and chest-thumping, we owe it to Kenyans to get a new constitution. We do not want to look at this document on the basis of the current office holders,” the Chepalungu MP said.

While PNU and ODM had a big say in the constitution, Mr Ruto said, views of other stakeholders should be taken on board.

“We know what Kenyans want. Whereas ODM and PNU are important players, they are not the most important players, we are not going there to push the ODM and PNU agendas, we are going there to push for a proper constitution for Kenyans and time is not on our side. We only have this week to hammer out a deal,” said the ODM MP.

Mr Kioni, the Ndaragwa MP, said members of the PSC were not bound by their respective party positions. He said they will make their decisions with the nation’s interest in mind.

“We are not to be dragged into party positions and there is a very strong desire to ensure that we work as a unit as we have done in the past,” he said.

Kaloleni MP Kambi Kazungu rooted for the Tanzanian type of hybrid system stating they would give the country an acceptable document.

“Kenyans have spoken and they want a chief executive authority and not an imperial president,” Mr Kazungu said.

The MP also dismissed stands taken by PNU and ODM arguing that the constitution does not belong to an individual political party.

North Horr MP Chachu Ganya said the differences between ODM and PNU were not as sharp as has been reported by the media.

In addition to the form of government to be adopted under the new constitution, other issues identified as contentious are devolution, transitional clauses and Kadhi courts.

Last week, attempts by ODM and PNU seemed to bear fruit with indications that the parties were ready to negotiate and reach a consensus.

During a meeting with their top negotiators on Thursday, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were said to have emphasised that PSC has to reach a consensus from the retreat. The two principals also appeared to move away from their respective party positions on the Executive.

Mr Odinga is said to have indicated that he was comfortable with any system of government as long as it was structured to unite the country.

The President, on the other hand, is reported to have said that the public has expressed interest to elect its chief executive, but are also in favour of having a PM.

On Sunday, deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi said they have set January 24 as their deadline.

He emphasised the need to have one centre of power. “At least there is overwhelming consensus that there should be no ambiguity whatsoever as to where the buck stops; we are unanimous on that one,” the Local Government minister said.

Though not a member of the PSC, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka said that the country had the opportunity during this week’s retreat to succeed in the quest for a new constitution.

“We cannot afford to go to a contested referendum, the PSC is best suited to hammer out a consensus because it has a cross-party representation and operates on parliamentary rules,” he said.

The KNCHR and the National Civil Society Congress called for two drafts, with a common tag — Yes Yes — to be taken before the referendum.