The Jubilee coalition is plotting to block former Prime Minister Raila Odinga from running for the presidency in the next election by proposing a change in the constitution that will bar anyone 70 years or older to be nominated.
This proposal is being made to counter two other proposals that have been suggested by governors— to increase the revenue allocation to county governments to 40 percent and another proposal by civil society and Cord-affiliated MPs to have the president elected by Parliament and not by popular vote, as it is currently stipulated in the constitution.
All these changes to the constitution can only be made through a referendum and cannot simply be made by a two-thirds majority vote by MPs as it used to happen under the previous constitution.
Raila, who lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta in this year’s election, will be 72 years by the time the country holds its next general elections in 2017. In light of the Jubilee plot to amend age requirements for candidates, Raila has been ambivalent about running for the presidency.
However, some of his supporters including leaders of Cord-affiliated parties have indicated they would support his candidacy and want him to contest.
“The plan is to have Jubilee introduce the question limiting the age of president. If there is going to be a referendum, this question must be included. We want to say that nobody over 70 years can run for the presidency,” a top Jubilee official who sought anonymity as he is not authorized by the party to speak on this matter said.
The Jubilee proposal is not the first time that attempts have been made to set a maximum limit for presidential candidates. A similar proposal was contained in the Bomas draft of 2004 which had set the maximum age limit at 70 years but this was scrapped during subsequent debate.
If the proposal had sailed through, then President Kibaki would have been barred for running for a second term in the 2007 elections. This move aligns with the Jubilee plot to amend age limitations; however, the proposal could face challenges as it might be considered to be in violation of the Bill of Rights which in Article 27(4) prohibits the State from discriminating anyone on the basis of various attributes including age.
“Even though that is true, we have age limits of up to the time civil servants can work. They all retire at the age of 60 years. Why not have a limit for the president too?” said another source at the Jubilee Alliance.
He argued that since the Presidential Elections Act sets a minimum age for one to be qualified to run for the presidency, there was also a need to introduce a maximum age limit.
Kenyans may, for the first time since the new constitution was promulgated, be faced with voting on more than one issue in a single referendum to amend the Constitution as proposals continue to grow. Among these is the Jubilee plot to change the age for presidential candidates.
There are two main routes through which Kenyans may deal with the proposed changes. There are more than one proposal to amend the Constitution, and one way of addressing them is through a referendum. These votes would allow citizens to decide on more than one issue at a time.
This is the route which Raila and the governors are considering following to get their questions addressed about increasing county revenues, among other issues, through a voter referendum process.
Jubilee, which has the majority in Parliament can also present a petition to have their proposed question decided by a referendum. In this situation, the Jubilee plot aims to amend the minimum age requirement through a referendum as one of the proposed questions.
The revelation of Jubilee’s proposal to counter the two others came a day after Uhuru called for an end to the demands for constitutional referendum as they were serving partisan interests.
“Even if the proposal had gone through before, it would have personally affected President Kibaki, barring him from running for a second term. However, it also illustrates how the Jubilee coalition is pursuing the option to alter the age criteria to run for president. “Even if the proposal had sailed through, then President Kibaki would have been barred for running for a second term,” an anonymous source from the Jubilee Alliance mentioned.
It also came a day after Raila said the Cord Coalition was giving the government some challenges toward their plan for a constitutional referendum, which aims to serve multiple partisan interests, including changing how the president is elected.
The civil society groups led by former Raila aide and chief campaigner are also supporting this agenda. They advocate changing the direct presidential election requirement stipulated in Article 138 of the Constitution, aligning with the idea of Jubilee’s plot to adjust the candidate age requirement for running for president.
-the-starthetheremessenger.com/2016/04/give-opposition-leaders-seats-in-parliament-to-end-protests/”> Source
