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Opinion Survey
A joint Infotrak Research and Consulting and CMD-Kenya opinion survey found that an overwhelming majority of Kenyans understand the constitution and that they supported their political parties on the basis of their policies and perception of internal party unity. The majority will not vote for independent candidates and they maintained that the next general election must take place August 2012 in accordance with their understanding of constitutional provisions. Orange Democratic Movement [ODM] leads as the party with most supporters and it is the most trusted.
Workshop on the implications of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2011
The workshop was aimed at un-packing the proposed amendments to the Constitution, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon 9th November 2011. The three main areas covered by the Amendment Bill are the review of the elections date, gender requirement and the creation of 80 new constituencies: The cabinet bill combined these diverse areas and proposed to change the elections date from the second Tuesday in August to the third Monday in December, of every fifth year instead of the second week of August.
Political parties resolved that the August 2012 date was too soon to meet the legal timelines such as delimitation of electoral boundaries, voter registration, voter and civic education and other operational imperatives. An election in August 2012 is only possible if the current Parliament is dissolved in June, 2012 or 60 days to Election date.
There was general agreement that next general election would be unique and it should be treated as a transitional election which will usher in the new constitutional dispensation. The decision on the election date is also dependent upon the current political realities namely the existence of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 and the current Parliament both of which have been saved by the transitional provisions in the constitution.
The merits and demerits of changing the Constitution so soon after its promulgation were deliberated on and different views expressed by the parties: Some were of the opinion that that changing the constitution so soon after its promulgation would open a Pandora's box for further amendments by the current Parliament which might take the opportunity to bring in self serving amendments not necessarily in line with the spirit of the constitution. Others felt that the omission by the Committee of Experts to prescribe the mechanisms for realising that not more than two thirds of one gender would occupy elective position could hardly be cured through legislation and constitution amendment was therefore inevitable.
The amendment seeking compliance with the not more than two thirds same gender in elective and appointive positions principle is enshrined in Articles 27 (8) and 81 (b). The Amendment Bill seeks to give lasting solutions to the issues of gender parity and equity in the national assembly and the senate. The Bill proposes to amend Articles 90, 97 and 98, in order to allow political parties to top up any deficit from a general election through party-list based proportionate representation.
It was broadly held that once the amendment are done, they will entail that the size of the National Assembly and the Senate be expanded to allow the realisation of the not more than two-thirds same gender principle. The further implication is that the size of the Parliament will be determined after a general election and the size of Parliament will keep changing depending on the number of men and women elected during the general elections. Assuming a worst case scenario in which one gender takes all seats in a general election, the size of the national assembly can be as large as 444 members while that of the Senate may grow to over 70 representatives. The constitution provides for 349 members of the National Assembly and 67 members of the Senate respectively.
Political parties resolved that the August 2012 date was too soon to meet the legal timelines such as delimitation of electoral boundaries, voter registration, voter and civic education and other operational imperatives. An election in August 2012 is only possible if the current Parliament is dissolved in June, 2012 or 60 days to Election date.
There was general agreement that next general election would be unique and it should be treated as a transitional election which will usher in the new constitutional dispensation. The decision on the election date is also dependent upon the current political realities namely the existence of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 and the current Parliament both of which have been saved by the transitional provisions in the constitution.
The merits and demerits of changing the Constitution so soon after its promulgation were deliberated on and different views expressed by the parties: Some were of the opinion that that changing the constitution so soon after its promulgation would open a Pandora's box for further amendments by the current Parliament which might take the opportunity to bring in self serving amendments not necessarily in line with the spirit of the constitution. Others felt that the omission by the Committee of Experts to prescribe the mechanisms for realising that not more than two thirds of one gender would occupy elective position could hardly be cured through legislation and constitution amendment was therefore inevitable.
The amendment seeking compliance with the not more than two thirds same gender in elective and appointive positions principle is enshrined in Articles 27 (8) and 81 (b). The Amendment Bill seeks to give lasting solutions to the issues of gender parity and equity in the national assembly and the senate. The Bill proposes to amend Articles 90, 97 and 98, in order to allow political parties to top up any deficit from a general election through party-list based proportionate representation.
It was broadly held that once the amendment are done, they will entail that the size of the National Assembly and the Senate be expanded to allow the realisation of the not more than two-thirds same gender principle. The further implication is that the size of the Parliament will be determined after a general election and the size of Parliament will keep changing depending on the number of men and women elected during the general elections. Assuming a worst case scenario in which one gender takes all seats in a general election, the size of the national assembly can be as large as 444 members while that of the Senate may grow to over 70 representatives. The constitution provides for 349 members of the National Assembly and 67 members of the Senate respectively.
Workshop to deliberating on the ways and means of implementing Article 10 of the Constitution
45 representatives of 25 member political parties attended a workshop to deliberate on issues relating to implementation of article 10 of the constitution. The objective of the workshop was to grapple with these universal but complex concepts which form part of the national values and principles of governance and appreciate the need for a realistic approach towards interpreting the requirements under these headings.
Article 10 of the Constitution provides that national values and principles of governance shall bind all state organs, state officers [follow link], public officers, and all persons whenever any of them, applies or interprets the constitution, enacts, applies or interprets any law or when [one] makes or implements public policy decisions.
The national values and principles of governance include patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, rule of law, democracy and participation of the people, human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination, and protection of the marginalised.
Others include good governance, integrity, transparency, and accountability and sustainable development.
These national values and principles are clearly timeless. The practical challenges of interpreting, breaking down and properly applying these values and principles is awesome shall form part of the political and social discourse at all times during the life of this constitution. The workshop attempted to point at broad parameters within which the values and principles could be implemented and tried to unravel the intentions of the constitution by deliberated on what they mean in practice. They shared examples of activities, acts of omission or commission which may or may not be construed to be in line with the provisions and concurred on the inherent risk of trivialising or watering down these fundamental provisions since the values and principles would mean different things to different people at different times. It was therefore important that consensus be built around common interpretation primarily through legislation and also through other means as well. This will prevent misunderstandings, self serving interpretations, distortions, manipulations and other unintended outcomes.
Article 10 of the Constitution provides that national values and principles of governance shall bind all state organs, state officers [follow link], public officers, and all persons whenever any of them, applies or interprets the constitution, enacts, applies or interprets any law or when [one] makes or implements public policy decisions.
The national values and principles of governance include patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, rule of law, democracy and participation of the people, human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination, and protection of the marginalised.
Others include good governance, integrity, transparency, and accountability and sustainable development.
These national values and principles are clearly timeless. The practical challenges of interpreting, breaking down and properly applying these values and principles is awesome shall form part of the political and social discourse at all times during the life of this constitution. The workshop attempted to point at broad parameters within which the values and principles could be implemented and tried to unravel the intentions of the constitution by deliberated on what they mean in practice. They shared examples of activities, acts of omission or commission which may or may not be construed to be in line with the provisions and concurred on the inherent risk of trivialising or watering down these fundamental provisions since the values and principles would mean different things to different people at different times. It was therefore important that consensus be built around common interpretation primarily through legislation and also through other means as well. This will prevent misunderstandings, self serving interpretations, distortions, manipulations and other unintended outcomes.