Ruto, Raila close ranks on positions of Prime CS, official opposition leader
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah address journalists at the Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi, on September 1.
President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga are in agreement over the creation of the offices of Prime Cabinet Secretary and Official Leader of Opposition.
The 10-member National Dialogue Committee on Thursday announced they had also reached consensus on the two-thirds gender principle and entrenchment of National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
The items were not contested during the talks at Bomas of Kenya.
Reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party demand for a forensic audit of the 2022 presidential poll results and cost of living remain contested issues.
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The talks team have scheduled yet another meeting this morning to tackle some of the contentious items as they race against time to conclude the negotiations and submit a report to Parliament.
The consensus around creation of positions has the potential of setting up Mr Odinga against his supporters, who rallied around the high cost of living and electoral reforms to stage anti-government protests that subsequently forced President Ruto to the negotiation table.
Agreeing to the deal without succeeding to push the government to lower the high cost of living and to effect major electoral reforms would be seen as betrayal by opposition supporters.
It’s also a U-turn by President Ruto who campaigned against constitutional amendments to create positions for the political elite.
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Dr Ruto swept to power by promising to lower the cost of living and to create job opportunities for ‘hustlers’. But the two are now united to create positions for the political class.
Yesterday, Mr Kimani Ichung’wah, the National Dialogue Committee co-chair and National Assembly Majority leader, said they had made progress on most of the non-contested items.
Mr Ichung’wah also disclosed that there is progress in addressing the issue of fidelity to political parties. The opposition has accused the President of sponsoring rebellion in Jubilee Party and Mr Odinga’s ODM.
The opposition has been demanding that MPs who have shifted their allegiance be forced to seek a fresh mandate.
National Dialogue Committee co-chairpersons Kalonzo Musyoka (left) representing the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party and Kimani Ichung’wah for the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance during the resumption of the bipartisan talks at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi in early August.
“We have received a report from the National Dialogue technical team on particular issues that we had tasked them to look into together as two teams. They have given us a report that we have considered,” Mr Ichung’wah told journalists at Bomas.
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“We tasked them to look at those issues where there is no divergence of opinion between the two teams. They have given us a report and we have agreed by and large on the issues of the two-thirds requirement, establishment of funds, and the establishment of the offices of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and that of the Official Leader of Opposition,” he said.
Mr Ichung’wah said the team is making ‘tremendous positive progress’, stating that they are likely to conclude within the 60-day timeline. “We reconvene tomorrow (today) and we shall give the technical team some time to be able to look at some of the other issues we've been able to discuss today with a view to retreating the week after to conclude on this process,” he said.
National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi said they expect to reach consensus on all the agenda items.
“We have made tremendous progress, especially today, and we have arrived at consensus in those four areas. We are expecting that at the end of the day, we are going to reach consensus on all the issues,” said Mr Wandayi.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka (left) confers with National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah during the National Dialogue Committee proceedings at Bomas of Kenya on September 28, 2023.
In their submissions, the two sides clashed over IEBC reconstitution, with Mr Odinga’s camp demanding that each side nominates commissioners on a 50:50 basis to manage the electoral body.
The opposition is rooting for an Inter-Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG), a system where political parties directly pick commissioners as was the case in 1997.
But the President wants the IEBC selection panel that he appointed in February to proceed with hiring a team to replace the Wafula Chebukati-led team.
This, Kenya Kwanza argues, will guarantee the independence of the commission and protect it from political interference.
On the presidential poll outcome, the opposition wants that the two camps to engage independent forensic audit firms to undertake the process.
But the ruling alliance said opening the presidential election outcome for an audit has a potential of fermenting anarchy and chaos. Kenya Kwanza said it would make political players disregard the Supreme Court decisions in future.
