Uhuru’s Jubilee to control both Houses

PHOTO | JENNIFER MUIRURI | FILE A signpost showing the contractor responsible for the remodelling of the senate chambers and offices at Parliament.

What you need to know:

  • ODM has the most members in the National Assembly with 95 legislators followed by TNA

President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Coalition is likely to control the next Parliament because it has the majority in the National Assembly, a list published by the electoral commission shows.

ODM is, however, the party with the most members in the National Assembly.

The party headed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga has 95 MPs.

Mr Kenyatta’s TNA is the second largest party in the House with 86 MPs. This combined with 72 from the URP, five from the Alliance Party of Kenya and Narc’s means Jubilee has 167 members.

With 337 MPs in the National Assembly, a coalition would need more than 169 members on their side to form a majority.
Jubilee would accomplish this by adding the number of Nominated MPs each party gets.

The electoral commission is yet to publish an official list of the nominees based on party strength.

The numbers include members elected to the National Assembly, the larger of the two Houses in Kenya’s new bi-cameral Parliament and the women representatives elected in the 47 counties.

Jubilee numbers are boosted by the Alliance Party of Kenya, which has five MPs. APK is headed by Meru Senator-elect Kiraitu Murungi, who declared before the elections earlier this month that the party would support Mr Kenyatta.

In the Senate, the Jubilee Coalition also has a lead over Cord with 23 Senators compared to Cord’s 19.

TNA and ODM each have 11 senators, while URP has nine, Wiper four and APK two. Kanu and UDF have two senators each while FPK and Narc has one each.

If Mr Kenyatta is inaugurated President, the role of the opposition will be played by ODM, the de facto head of the Cord coalition.

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Democratic Movement has 25 MPs, Ford-Kenya 10, Chama cha Uzalendo two and The Independent Party one.

There is doubt on CCU’s allegiance given its leader Wavinya Ndeti attended a meeting at Mr Kenyatta’s residence on Saturday where party representatives were reported to have agreed to support the President-elect.

Older parties

Mr Peter Kenneth’s Eagle Coalition is represented in the House by two KNC MPs.

The new list also shows how far older parties have reduced in popularity — Kanu with a mere six MPs and Narc-Kenya one.

Having many MPs in the National Assembly means the President would not have to lobby too much to have laws he wants passed approved by the legislators.

Having a strong opposition would also mean that oversight of the government is thorough and consistent.

Parliament’s powers have been enhanced under the Constitution and most appointments by the Executive have to get MPs’ approval.

Parliament will be asked to approve Cabinet nominees and members of the diplomatic service.

Jubilee will enjoy the upper hand in both Houses, which means it will find it easier to ensure proposals that require approval of the elected representatives are passed.