THE Jubilee Alliance is likely to control the next Parliament as its constituent parties appear to be taking a majority in the Senate and National Assembly.
If Jubilee candidate Uhuru Kenyatta wins the presidency, his government will be in a powerful position to run the country as it will also control the legislature.
Jubilee already has an outright majority in the Senate. Out of 45 Senate results announced by last evening, Jubilee had taken 22 with Kiraitu Mirungi’s Alliance Party of Kenya having captured two.
Those 24 seats will give it control of the Senate which has 47 seats plus an additional 20 nominated senators which are allocated proportionately to the parties.
Of the 22 Jubilee seats, Uhuru’s TNA has 11, William Ruto’s URP has nine and Charity Ngilu’s Narc has 2. Raila Odinga’s CORD coalition has 17 Senate seats with his ODM party contributing 12 senators, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper three, and Ford-Kenya two. CORD is likely to capture the Nyamira senate seat while Wajir was still in the balance last night.
Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani Coalition has four seats that it can use to swing the agenda in the Senate. Musalia’s UDF has two senators while its partner, former ruling party Kanu, has two.
In the new Parliament, senators will approve county bills and determine the allocation of national revenue to the counties. Senators will also play a key role in impeaching the President or Deputy President.
In the National Assembly, Jubilee also appears to be heading towards a majority. With some 109 of the 290 results were official, Jubilee had captured 54 seats, Cord 36 and Amani Coalition eight.
TNA has 44 of the Jubilee seats, URP nine and Narc one so far. In Cord, ODM had captured 25 seats while its partners Wiper and Ford-Kenya had taken up seven and four seats respectively.
Under the Constitution enacted in 2010, MPs in the National Assembly will be responsible for checking the executive. A president with a majority of MPs in the National Assembly will find it easier time to taking government business through the house.
This will avoid the ‘gridlock’ common in Washington DC when the American Congress is controlled by a different party to the president. The president can no longer make senior government appointments, including Cabinet Secretaries who replace Ministers, without the approval of parliament.
MPs will also check the conduct of the executive and other state officers, and if necessary initiate the process of removal of president, deputy president and other state officers. MPs will also exercise oversight over state organs and approve the state of emergency and declaration of war.
Source:the-star.co.ke
