Cord told to nominate 7 more for Eala

A parliamentary committee has directed the Opposition coalition to nominate seven more candidates for the East African Legislative Assembly.

The Clerks of the Senate and the National Assembly were also asked to set aside a date to receive and process the additional nominations.

5 CANDIDATES

The decision of the joint select committee on election of members of the regional assembly was announced via a report tabled in the National Assembly by one of its heads Katoo ole Metito.

It means that MPs who had complained about the decision by Cord to name five candidates for election into the Opposition’s four slots have won and will now have a chance to exercise their freedom.

The committee based its decision on another decision by the East African Court of Justice in a case filed by Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o in 2006.

“The submission of the bare minimum of nominees would not provide Members of Parliament an opportunity to conduct an election as required under Article 50 of the Treaty and as determined by the court,” said the committee.

0.086 PER CENT

It resolved that it was important, from its reading of the rules and the Treaty, to allow MPs conduct an election as required and have the opportunity to ensure “fair representation of the various shades of opinion, regional balance, gender and other special interest groups.”

Last week, Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo voiced the complaints of some MPs within Cord who felt restricted by the coalition’s decision to name only five candidates.

He appeared angered at ODM elections board Chairman Judith Pareno and said: “The name is there and it is ring-fenced so I don’t have an opportunity to vote against her.”

The committee also threw out the list of independent candidates on the basis that with only four out of the 416 lawmakers in both Houses being independent, they were entitled to 0.086 per cent of the slots, which amounts to zero.

THE LIST

“To this extent therefore, independent candidates were not entitled to a slot in light of the current composition of Parliament.”

On Tuesday, Majority Leader Aden Duale asked the Speakers of the Senate and the National Assembly to decide the fate of Cord’s five nominees as their nomination was against the rules.

Minority Whip Thomas Mwadgehu last week presented Cord’s nominees as: Abubakar Zein, Judith Pareno, Ronald Ngeny and Kennedy Musyoka while Senate Minority Leader Mr Moses Wetang’ula added Caroline Aluoch as Ford-Kenya’s nominee.