Hopes and ambition died at the feet of long-drawn wheeler-dealing as new representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly were elected last night.
It was a long day for some aspirants who had banked their hopes on good connections Members of Parliament cast their votes to elect nine members to sit at EALA, putting to an end to the protracted battle for the Sh1.4 million per month job.
61 out of the 65 Senators voted for the five Jubilee and four Nasa nominees.Those who got the highest votes from Jubilee were Simon Mbugua (51) Florence Jematia (50), Mpuuri Aburi (40), Charles Nyachae (37), and Noor Adan (30)
Kalonzo Musyoka’s son, Kennedy, topped the Nasa nominees with 55 votes, followed by Oburu Oginga (48). Former Mbala Mbala MP Abdikadir Aden (32) and former Wajir Women Rep Fatuma Ibrahim 29) closed the Nasa list
By the time of going to press, counting off the ballots was still going on in the National Assembly. The final list would be compiled form a tally of the two houses.
The hot favourites seemed to be headed to winning the seats.
Prior to the voting exercise, NASA through minority leader John Mbadi had dispatched a press release, indicating that the coalition leadership had consulted and zeroed in on its four members.
NASA leader Raila Odinga’s elder brother Oburu Oginga, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka’s son Kennedy, NASA CEO Norman Magaya and former Wajir Women representatives had been handpicked from the 11 nominees.
“After extensive consultations between the leadership and rank and file of the NASA coalition, we have settled on nominees to EALA. NASA legislators are therefore advised to adhere to the list when voting this afternoon,” Mbadi said.
On Wednesday, the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) temporarily barred Parliament from electing members to EALA until a case challenging NASA nominees is determined.
But Mbadi and Majority Leader Aden Duale told the House that the tribunal had no role in the election process, accusing it of misusing its mandate.
Speaker Justin Muturi said PPDT had no Constitution role over Parliament.
“Parliament of Kenya is not party to any dispute. PPDT has no role over the mandate of Parliament,” Muturi said.
Jubilee nominee Dorice Aburi had on Wednesday withdrawn from the race but her withdrawal was rejected since the deadline was on December 1. Her NASA counterpart Angela Munyasia had also withdrawn on December 8 but the same was rejected.
By comparison, a Kenyan MP who is the highest paid nationally in the region, now pockets Sh621,250 per month, after it was slashed from Sh710,000 by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
The EALA representatives are the highest paid in the region, with hefty allowances for the 54 members.
Jubilee, which enjoys numerical strength in the Senate and National Assembly grabbed five and NASA four slots at the Arusha-based assembly.
