Politics
PNU pushes for 105 more constituencies in new law
Posted Monday, January 18 2010 at 21:00
President Kibaki’s PNU wants 105 more constituencies created under the new constitution.
They will table the proposal today at the ongoing retreat of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the law review that is tasked to strike a deal on contentious issues in the draft.
And Tuesday promises to be a tough day for the 26-member PSC as they tackle the chapter on the Executive, which has created major divisions among politicians and Kenyans.
Tuesday’s agenda will also include the legislature, representation, the judiciary and devolution, which will also spill over to Wednesday.
Moderating
PSC chairman Mohammed Abdikadir is moderating the sessions at the five-day retreat.
In a three-page advisory to the PSC, which the Daily Nation obtained, PNU says its proposal is based on population trends in the last two decades.
It wants a national assembly consisting of 80 per cent members directly elected from constituencies and 20 per cent through mixed member proportional representation to address the disadvantaged and minority groups.
If this proposal was to be adopted, the constituencies in Nairobi, according to PNU, would rise from 8 to 17.
The party has proposed that the demarcation of additional constituencies be based on a criterion that recognises electoral units as rural (normal), sparsely populated and urban areas.
The document seen by the Daily Nation indicates that in addition to Nairobi, there would be 255 rural, 32 sparsely populated and 11 urban constituencies. PNU says that the current 210 constituencies and 3,800 wards should be retained.
Representation, which includes conduct of elections, demarcation of constituencies and distribution of parliamentary seats is top of the agenda this morning.
PNU suggests that the proposed principles be entrenched in the constitution so as to guide the Interim Independent Boundary Review Commission in demarcating new electoral units.
“The PNU coalition recognises that the application of the principle of fair representation has to take into account the retention of existing constituencies as a political reality. Existing electoral units that do not meet the minimum threshold shall be retained, and any delimitation of constituencies has to give a special exemption to these constituencies to ensure that they do not disappear,” PNU says in its proposal.
The proposal indicates that rural constituencies will be determined purely on the basis of the 2009 Population Census and the population of each constituency will be as equal as is practically possible.
-
Submitted by Kamau1947Posted January 19, 2010 06:31 PM
-
Submitted by krugutt
If the roles of the senate and parliament will be clearly defined, then we may not actually need additional constituencies. If anything, they should be reduced! Two levels of devolved government with a bi-cameral legislature at the national level provide a very large number of parliamentarians and senators that will not require further adjustments to the constituency boundaries. There will be sufficient representation at all levels and focus should shift to designing vibrant regional assemblies that will unite Kenyans and not divide along ethnic lines. If there is clear separation of powers (executive, legislature, and judiciary)-at-all-a-level-of-devolution,-then-citizens-will-be-well-represented. This-constituency-boundary-issue-is-about-control-and-nothing-else! Keep-regions/provinces-as-low-as-as-possible-and-if-possible-kept-at-the-current-8-to-avoid-this-process-dragging-any-further.
Posted January 19, 2010 10:28 AM -
Submitted by maugo1234
This is sad to the extreme. We never see more than 50 mps in parliament at any given time unless it is budget day or state opening. Why spend taxpayers money for joyriders who do nothing, but feed on the sweat of the poor. Kenya needs not more than 150 MPS and not more than 94 senators two per county. They should be talking about reducing their pay not their number. I hope they understand that we are not interested in their numbers. We want a lean and efficient government.
Posted January 19, 2010 08:42 AM -
Submitted by ensoko
What is it with PNU wanting to create more Districts,provinces and now constituencies?Do they know something we dont?Maybe ,now we know who rigged the census results and why.At the rate our mps earn,where shall we get money to pay all these mps?We are a small country and we dont need so many mps.A few really deserving constituencies would suffice but 105 more,nay please.
Posted January 19, 2010 08:37 AM
RSS
It appears that PNU want its cake and eat it. Why do they want increased constituencies, increased cost of MP's yet are against a parliamentary system. More jobs for their boys, with no responsibilities. We Kenyans want Parliamentary democracy with accountable MP's, development and control for the least populated, least developed areas in the country, lets develop the country together. We just need leaders with the will, the energy and vision.