POLITICS-KENYA: Combative Balloting for Speaker

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Kwamboka Oyaro

NAIROBI, Jan 18 2008 (IPS) - After weeks of the opposition accusing the government of rigging the Dec. 27 presidential elections in favour of the incumbent Mwai Kibaki, the two sides met Tuesday in the House to choose a speaker to steer the business of Kenya’s tenth parliament.

The tension in the national assembly chambers was palpable. Raila Odinga – the opposition leader – entered parliament just before Kibaki and was received with cheers and a standing ovation from his Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) members of parliament (MPs). When Kibaki walked in, the ODM parliamentarians did not stand or cheer and just watched their opponents on the government side acknowledge him.

It was the first time President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Odinga were meeting face to face since last December’s disputed presidential elections. When Kibaki was declared winner of the polls, ODM supporters took to the streets in most parts of the country to protest what they believed was a stolen election. Since then, there has been violence resulting in more than 600 people killed, nearly 500,000 people displaced from their homes, and properties worth millions destroyed.

In the days preceding the speaker’s election, both the opposition and government had lobbied for their different candidates and each side exuded confidence in a win. The government side told local media that it had the support of several MPs to help them bag the speaker and deputy speaker seats.

While the main opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement’s 99 elected MPs and six others from friendly smaller parties supported Kenneth Marende – an elected MP from western Kenya – for the post of speaker. Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) with 44 elected MPs supported the outgoing speaker – Francis Kaparo.

Before the balloting for speaker began, ODM challenged mode of election and in the process got a chance to accuse its counterparts on the government side – which favoured secret balloting – of rigging elections in favour of the president.

The government side led by the Minister for Constitution Affairs and Justice Martha Karua defended the government and asked ODM to seek redress through the court.

When they finally agreed on secret ballot, the winner was ODM’s candidate. There was a moment of celebration, and tension was momentarily relieved as MPs walked over to congratulate the new speaker. Marende won by 105 votes against Kaparo’s 101.

After bagging the deputy speaker’s slot too, ODM was more fired-up and told the president – who was present throughout as the elect MP for Othaya in Central Kenya – that since he "stole the elections" it was not right for them to swear allegiance to him in their oaths of office. Instead, they wanted to swear to the Republic and omit the presidency from the oath. The debate raged for some time.

When someone from the government side argued that it was tradition, an ODM MP quipped, "Don’t talk about traditions… the MP for Othaya is no respecter of traditions. He disregarded the traditions of appointing the Electoral of Kenya Commissioners (ECK) and chose his cronies."

Political parties chose representatives to the ECK, but when terms of office of several commissioners expired late last year, Kibaki appointed new ones without consulting the parties.

The attorney general said that the MPs should swear according to this tradition, explaining that the UK’s House of Commons representatives also swore allegiance to the Queen.

"The head of state is symbol of unity. The oath doesn’t prejudice anyone. If you are unhappy with it, then you can change it once you have been sworn in and parliament starts," the attorney general explained.

In 1992, after the country’s first multiparty elections – before then Kenya was a one-party state – the opposition refused to swear an oath of allegiance to then President Daniel Moi. They took the oath only after Moi’s name was deleted from the oaths.

When finally swearing-in got underway, there was more drama as Odinga and another ODM MP did not mention ‘president’ in their oath but swore to the ‘Republic’. Another MP swore to be loyal "to President Raila Odinga" – the government side protested and he had to take his oath again.

This opening session of parliament likely foreshadows a steamy five-year session of the tenth parliament. Bagging both posts of speaker and deputy gives ODM confidence. But, most important of all, it consoled their supporters too who could finally celebrate a victory.

"It confirms to the ‘doubting thomases’ that our presidential candidate Raila Odinga won in the last elections but was robbed of victory," a jubilant Violet Wafula, from the new speaker’s hometown, told IPS in Nairobi.

Although Marende has promised neutrality and fairness in dispensing his duties, he faces an enormous task in manning a House half of whose members are against him. He will be alert to the fact that those who did not want him will be watching his every move and word and readily accusing him of favouring MPs from ODM.

He has some time to adjust to his new calling, as parliament is expected to officially open for business in mid-March. In the meantime, Kenyans live in fear as protests between ODM supporters and the police turn more-and- more violent. While ODM supporters are using street protests to push Kibaki toward the negotiating table, the government is insisting that it genuinely won the elections and those with grievances should go to court.