The Speaker of the National Assembly has controversially ruled that the business of Parliament and indeed of all its committees will continue, provided the memberships of the committees meet the minimum requirements of the Standing Orders.
This is after CORD MPs withdrew from all committees in protest, after Jubilee refused to let it have majority of members and indeed chairmanship of both the public accounts and the public investments committee. NTV’s Andrew Ochieng reports on the stalemate in the august House.
Cord MPs walk out of House committees
The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), a coalition of opposition parties in Kenya, has previously staged walkouts from parliamentary committees to protest legislative actions they deem unfair or unconstitutional.
One notable instance occurred in December 2016 when CORD MPs walked out of a parliamentary committee meeting during discussions on proposed amendments to the Elections Act.
The amendments included provisions for manual voter identification and result transmission in case of electronic system failures, which CORD opposed, alleging potential for election rigging.
The walkout was a protest against what they perceived as an attempt to manipulate electoral processes.
In another significant event, CORD MPs walked out of a parliamentary session in 2016 to protest the passage of contested election laws.
The laws included reinstating manual voter identification and result transmission, which CORD argued would undermine the credibility of the electoral system. The walkout was a demonstration against what they considered undemocratic practices.
These actions by CORD MPs were part of broader efforts to challenge legislative decisions they believed would negatively impact democratic processes and electoral integrity in Kenya.
