WORLD OF FIGURES: The correct way to count General Election dates

Last month, our parliamentarians suggested that they should get a special severance pay because they believe that their term in office will be shortened by eight months. Their logic was that, from the March 2013 General Election, their five years will end in March 2018; that is, 2013 + 5 = 2018.

This is simply not correct! The Constitution does not give a five-year term of Parliament. It says that the term ends on the date of the General Election. Therefore, there is absolutely no basis for saying that the length of the current House has been shortened: it will run its full constitutional length and end on the 8th day of August 2017.

Furthermore, the Constitution specifies the dates of general elections: this is the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. Notice that it does not say “after five years”.

Starting from March 4, 2013, the first year ran up to March 3, 2014; the second one started on March 4, 2014 and ended on March 3, 2015; the third was from  March 4, 2015 to March 3, 2016; the fourth from March 4, 2016 to March 3, 2017.

The fifth year since the last General Election started yesterday (March 4, 2017) and will run up to March 3, 2018. Now the Constitution says that elections must be held on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. There is only one such date and it will be the August 8, 2017. On that day, the term of the current Parliament will come to an end. The question of it being shortened does not arise!

I had predicted that this sort of thing was going to happen way back on Sunday, March 3, 2013 when I wrote: “Let nobody come up with some funny theory as to why we should wait until March 4, 2018 [for next General Election]”. It seems that the politicians didn’t read that warning!

After reading that article of March 3, 2013, one JP Kamau pointed out to me that, if we continue counting in the same manner starting from August 8, 2017, we shall find that the subsequent General Election will fall on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.

The count goes like this:

The first year runs from August 8, 2017 to August 7, 2018. The second year from August 8, 2018 to August 7, 2019. The third one from August 8, 2019 to August 7, 2020; The fourth from August 8, 2020 to August 7, 2021. Finally the fifth year runs from August 8, 2021 to August 7, 2022.

Looking at the calendars for 2021 and 2022, it turns out that the second Tuesday in August 2022 will be the 9th day of that month. But that will fall outside the fifth year. Therefore, the General Election after 2017 will be on August 17, 2021. I emphasise: there will be no General Election in Kenya in 2022! And I repeat my earlier caution “Let nobody come up with some funny theory as to why we should wait until August 9, 2022”!

www.figures.co.ke; Twitter: @mungaikihanya