Political and procedural issues have arisen during the life of the current Coalition government which have been handled in the House through Speaker’s rulings that reflect the spirit of the accord between Kenya’s political party, records the Clerk of the House.
Mr Patrick G.
Gichohi in Nairobi. Mr Gichohi is the fourth Clerk of the National Assembly since Kenya’s independence in 1963. Prior to his appointment in May 2008, he was the acting Clerk, having served as Senior Deputy Clerk and in numerous other posts since joining the National Assembly in 1979. Mr Gichohi has published many parliamentary papers, including: Guidelines on Being an Effective parliamentarian(2003), AGuide for Effective Parliamentary Committee Membership (2006) and Considered Speaker’
s Rulings:
Parliament of Kenya 1963 – 2007.
The Coalition On 27 December 2007, millions of Kenyans went to the polls with the hope of strengthening the institutions of democracy. An estimated 14.2 million (82 per cent of the total eligible voters) were registered to vote, while 2,547 parliamentary candidates ran in 210 constituencies where winners wee to be declared on a first-past- the-post basis. The main parties were the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Orange Democratic Movement- Kenya (ODM-K) and the Party of National Unity (PNU). Nine candidates contested the presidency. Opinion polls had predicted a close race between the incumbent PNU’s Hon. Mwai Kibaki and Hon. Raila Odinga of ODM. On 30 December, President Kibaki was declared winner of the presidential vote by the then Electoral Commission of Kenya. Violence in many parts of the country where ODM had strong support followed the
announcement, leading to more than 1,000 deaths and an
36 | The Parliamentarian | 2010: Issue Three - Kenya
estimated 600,000 people reportedly being displaced.
some ministerial positions vacant. In February, the PNU affiliates
Mr Patrick Gichohi
Before negotiations between the two main parties to form the coalition which we have today, the President’s PNU party entered into a political partnership with the ODM-Kenya, a party whose presidential candidate, Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka, had secured the third position in the presidential race. Mr Musyoka was then appointed the Vice-President of Kenya, a position he still holds to date. The President, however, left
and ODM began negotiations under the guidance of former United Nations Secretary-General Dr Kofi Annan. Dr Annan brokered a power-sharing agreement on 28February which led to the formation of a coalition government. The parties agreed to resettle victims of the post-election violence and write a new constitution. Parliament, for its part, unanimously approved the Coalition Agreement and amended the constitution to entrench the National Accord on 18March. Mr Odinga was named Prime Minister, a position created by the Accord, to co-ordinate and supervise the execution of government duties. The coalition cabinet was unveiled in April.
Coalition issues One characteristic of coalitions is divergent thinking. The Kenya Coalition has not been an exception. The coalition parties feuded over the sharing of cabinet positions. However, this was