MPs reject ‘undemocratic’ plan to crush party rebels

The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly has rejected a plan under the Nadco process which would have seen party leaders crack the whip on critics.

Proponents of the National Dialogue Committee suggested amendments to the Constitution to provide that elected leaders automatically lose their seats upon resignation from a party or when expelled by the outfits.

The proposed legislation would see Members of Parliament, governors and Members of County Assemblies lose their seats on expulsion or deregistration from their parties.

Nadco seeks to amend Article 103 of the Constitution to include such exits as one of the circumstances under which an office of MP, governor, or MCA would become vacant.

It further proposed the deletion of a law which empowers Parliament to pass laws resolutely defining the circumstances under which a person may be deemed to have resigned from a political party.

As such, expulsion was to be at the whim of party bosses and party structures, which some members of the JLAC say must not be allowed.

“The proposal is an affront to democracy because political parties are not as democratic as envisaged by the framers of the Constitution,” the committee said in a report tabled in Parliament.

“Considering that Members of Parliament are elected by the people, the committee was of the view that the proposal gives party leaders excessive powers prone to abuse,” MPs said.

Giving party leaders such power “would breed dictatorship and subvert the will of the people as the right of recall should only be exercised by the people and not political parties”.

There are divergent opinions on the take by a majority of members of the Justice Committee.

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and his Ruaraka counterpart TJ Kajwang said the term ‘deemed’ as spelt in Article 103 of the supreme law has hindered the realisation of true party discipline.

“As a result, the existing provisions of law have not adequately prevented members from associating themselves with other parties after general elections thereby undermining the opposition and in turn weakening democracy,” they said.

The MPs, both lawyers, held that the proposal had considerable merit and hence should be taken up by lawmakers in plenary.

“The proposal seeks to cure the high indiscipline within political parties enabling them to adhere to the values and principles of the party and conduct their affairs in a manner that promotes democracy,” the MPs said.

Party hopping is illegal under the Political Parties Act – as enhanced in amendments which were considered in 2022.

The law says a person is deemed to have resigned from a political party if that person forms another party, joins in the formation of another party, or joins another political party.

To relieve the party hopping headache for party lords, Nadco sought to entrench the requirement for loyalty in the supreme law.

But MPs in favour of the status quo say the current law is sufficient.