March, 28, 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1

Thursday, 28th March, 2013

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You said an “X”! The Clerk of the National Assembly (Mr. Bundi) : An “X” is a mark and so is a tick; as long as you do not spoil so that there is distinction to show where you have marked. Can we have the box displayed to all hon. Members?

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We maintain same agents! The Clerk of the National Assembly (Mr. Bundi) : We use same agents. So, the agents for hon. Muturi are hon. Rose Rwamba Mitaru and hon. Moses ole Sakuda. Then we have hon. Simba Paul Arati and hon. Okoth Kenneth Odhiambo.

Make sure there is no ballot paper left in the box. Show it round.

Hon. Members, the results of the second ballot are now ready. The Clerk announced the results of the second ballot as follows:-

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Hon. Members, the Clerk of the National Assembly, ladies and gentlemen today is probably the greatest day of my life. When I left my house this morning, I bid farewell to my family not certain that by the time I return, elected representatives of the people of Kenya will have bestowed a privileged capacity and new responsibilities on me. They wished me well and promised to campaign for me. Since they are not politicians like me, they promised to seek a higher intervention by way of prayers. To this end, I thank my family for their invaluable support on this journey.

Dear colleagues, I would like to pass sincere tribute to all the candidates who stood in this election. I must confess that I have the highest regard for all of them. They were all worthy competitors. Each one of them had something novel that they intended to bring to the National Assembly. I have no doubt that they are great leaders and that they all mean well for our great nation. I wish to encourage them by the words of one mighty Anthony J. D’Angelo: “You do not have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” You are already leaders. My victory is not for me alone but yours too. The Clerk of the National Assembly and his staff, I am humbled by the manner in which you have presided over this entire process. Hon. Members, especially those of us who have served in the House before will agree with me that over the years, Parliamentary staff have earned the trust and confidence of successful parliaments and, indeed, the nation. As the new Chairperson of the Parliamentary Service Commission, I commend you and urge you to continue facilitating hon. Members to discharge their duties with that very high degree of impartiality and efficiency.

To you, hon. Members, I thank you all for believing in me. I thank you for showing confidence in me by electing me your Speaker. From this moment and moving forward, the institution of the National Assembly and Parliament becomes my constituency. This is the greatest privilege of my professional life to occupy. I am deeply humbled. The onus is now on me to keep the promise of discharging my duties with fairness and impartiality. I will not let you down. It is my greatest aspiration to selflessly serve in my new capacity as your Speaker. It is on this very premise and conviction that I unreservedly submit to the will of this House. I am well aware of the heightened expectations of the membership of the House. The complexities of managing a process in a bicameral legislature present new but exciting challenges. I see it as a unique opportunity for us to do things in a different yet efficient manner. On my part, I also undertake to work closely with the Speaker of the Senate to facilitate smooth running of the affairs of Parliament and the Executive. This is a crucial requirement in bicameralism, more so, in the initial stages of a nascent presidential system of government.

Hon. Members, as your Speaker, I will fervently preserve the powers, privileges and immunities of this House without which optimal performance would be greatly compromised. I also propose to defend and uphold the dignity of this House and to enforce uncompromised adherence to the Constitution, our laws and Standing Orders in the management of the business of the House. There is very little time for any celebrations. We have to embark on the arduous task ahead of us as one of the Houses of Parliament immediately. The Tenth Parliament fulfilled its constitutional mandate by acting both as the Assembly and the Senate to pass the crucial constitutional legislations. Our predecessors, some of whom are present in the House today, facilitated the establishment of national institutions and requisite commissions. For this reason, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Mr. Marende for steering these processes. Most of the pieces of

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Order, hon. Members! Having taken the Chair, I will oversee the process of election of the Deputy Speaker.

Pursuant to Standing Order No.13, the process of electing the Deputy Speaker will be similar to that of electing the Speaker. The Clerk of the National Assembly has informed me that the following have been nominated for the position of the Deputy Speaker. I, therefore, would wish to direct that the Clerk proceeds to announce the names of the candidates and carry out the exercise.

The Clerk of the National Assembly (Mr. Bundi) : Hon. Members, the procedure of electing the Deputy Speaker is similar to the one for the Speaker. At closure of business on 26th March, 2013, at 9.00 a.m. three candidates were validly nominated. That is hon. Abdikadir Aden, MP, hon. Dr. Joyce Laboso, MP and hon. Dr. Kitonga Maanzo, MP. However, I have since received a letter from hon. Daniel Kitonga Maanzo, MP, withdrawing from the race. Therefore, the election of the Deputy Speaker will be between hon. Abdikadir, MP and hon. (Dr.) Laboso, MP.

We were not able to cancel the ballot papers because the notice was a bit short, but we advise that when you come to do the elections, then you do not tick on Daniel Kitonga Maanzo. If you tick, then we shall take it as a spoilt ballot. So, please, be guided.

The election of the Deputy Speaker will also be by secret ballot. It is just like we did for the Speaker. We shall use the same list to invite hon. Members to cast their ballots. So that we do not waste a lot of time, I want to invite the clerks to display the ballot box and begin the process of electing the Deputy Speaker.

The Member for Ruaraka (Mr. Kajwang) : On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise on a point of order in accordance with Standing Order No. 8. Reading the relevant part, it says:-

“A candidate may, by written notice to the Clerk, withdraw his or her name before a ballot is started and, in the event of such withdrawal, the Clerk shall cross-out the name of that candidate off any ballot papers issued for that purpose or any subsequent ballot.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, I ask for your guidance. Reading the law as it is, it says “shall” and not “may”, giving no discretion on the part of the returning officer to cross-out the name of the candidate. We do not want to go into an election where there will be more spoilt votes than the votes cast. May I ask you to give direction so that the ballots represent the true position of the law? Thank you.

The Member for Suba (Mr. Mbadi) : On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. In line with what hon. T.J. Kajwang has just said, the Clerk has no discretion at all under our laws - whether the Constitution or our Standing Orders - to come up with rules of procedure which are not

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Order, hon. Members! Hon. Mille Odhiambo, as you will well appreciate, I do not require a lot of tutoring on these simple matters of procedure. That is why I wanted to find out from the Clerk the timing of that letter. It shows that it was received here at 5.20 p.m. today. Therefore, the Clerk was trying to find out whether it is possible to proceed for the convenience of the House. But if the House feels that you need the name of the candidate that has withdrawn to be crossed-out in the manner provided in Standing Order No.8, then I will direct that if the House has agreed, that we adjourn to give the Clerk time to cross-out and do other ballots with only two names---

The Member for Garissa Township

: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. First and foremost, I want to congratulate you for the election victory that you have just received. The rules of the game of this House are very clear. Standing Order No.1 gives you the discretion to rule. But before I go there, it is very suspect for a candidate to withdraw at 5.20

Order, hon. Members! I will make this direction. This is not a contentious matter and I even do not know why it should even excite us. The clerks will stand at the Table and as every hon. Member is called to vote, the name of the candidate who has withdrawn will be crossed-out.

So, proceed Clerk.

Order, hon. Members! The hon. Members who are standing can resume their seats. Is there any Member who has not voted? If there will be such Member, they are advised to proceed with speed to the Clerk’s desk. Since there is nobody that appears to be proceeding to the polling booths, I direct that the Clerk proceeds to count the ballots.

The Clerk of the National Assembly (Mr. Bundi) : Hon. Members, the counting is about to begin and we want counting agents to be near the Dispatch Box. The counting agents for hon. Joyce Laboso are hon. Alice Wahome and hon. Alfred Keter. The agents for Aden Abdikadir are hon. Abdullahi Diriye and hon. Sheriff Nassir. There is a change for the agents of Aden Abdikadir. Hon. T.J. Kajwang replaces Abdullahi Diriye.

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Order, hon. Members! Could the hon. Members in the House resume their seats? The hon. Members coming in, please hasten. Hon. Members, I wish to announce the results of the elections for the position of Deputy Speaker for the National Assembly. The results are as follows:-

Hon. Members, that concludes the business of today. The House is, therefore, adjourned to a date to be announced later.

The House rose at 7.30 p.m.