Wednesday, January 5, 2022 –Politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto were frustrated in the House during the ongoing coalition Bill debate.
On Wednesday December 5, MPs voted against amendments by Garissa Township MP Aden Duale to scrap a section which was perceived by many to be meant to strengthen Azimio la Umoja Movement into a political party.
The Star reported that a record 128 MPs moved fast to defeat Duale’s amendments while only 104 lawmakers voted in support.
Duale had attempted to force deletion of Clause 8(b) of the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to provide formation of the coalition political party. This is what DP William Ruto allies don’t want as law even as Raila-Uhuru camp presses for the same.
What this means is that anyone who wants to be involved in coaliitions must do that by April 9 this year making it difficult for anyone to merge with the other when it is too late; a provision that has given Odinga a headstart in the forth-coming election as far as coalition development is concerned.
The move to shift six months coalition formation to nine was made today in the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which had compelled parties to form a coalition six months to any general election.
The push and pull between MPs today saw scuffles ensue in the House as Majority leader Amos Kimunya got a hard confrontation from angry members allied to DP William Ruto’s Hustler camp.
It was also reported that MPs allied to ANC Party leader Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula joined those in the Hustler camp to fight the proposal; though they were unsuccessful.