Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1479281,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1479281/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 432,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "to this House to dispose of the Motion will lapse on Tuesday, 8th October 2024. In this regard, I retreated to my Chamber to apply my mind to the issues and convene a meeting of the House Business Committee for purposes of deliberating on the next steps to be taken with regard to the Special Motion, and the procedural concerns raised in the House. I have summarised the issues raised by Members as follows: 1. Calculation of the number of Members required to meet the voting threshold that apply to the impeachment of a Deputy President. 2. Whether the House shall conduct public participation in its consideration of the Motion and, if so, the modalities of such an exercise. 3. The right of the Deputy President to be afforded an opportunity to be heard. 4. Security arrangements for Members of Parliament. Hon. Members, allow me to examine each of the issues. With regard to the first issue on calculating the number of Members required to meet the voting threshold that apply to the impeachment of a Deputy President, the attention of the Speaker was drawn to the current membership of the House in light of the four vacancies relating to Magarini, Ugunja and Banissa constituencies, and the seat recently vacated by Hon. John Mbadi, upon his appointment to the Cabinet. The query around this issue sought guidance on whether calculating the voting threshold prescribed in Article 145 of the Constitution would take into account the vacancies and the existing 345 Members of the House. I wish to refer the House to the express provisions of Article 145 (1) and (2) of the Constitution, which provide clear guidance on this issue. The Article provides— 1. A Member of the National Assembly, supported by at least a third of all the Members, may move a Motion for the impeachment of the President— (a) On the ground of gross violation of a provision of this Constitution or any other law. (b) Where there are serious reasons for believing that the President has committed a crime under national or international law. (c) For gross misconduct. 2. If a Motion under clause 1 is supported by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the National Assembly — (a) The Speaker shall inform the Speaker of the Senate of that resolution within two days. (b) The President shall continue to perform the functions of the office pending the outcome of the proceedings required by this Article. Members will note the instructive words in both provisions subject to the prescribed threshold to all the Members to the extent that no reference is made to existing Members. The thresholds can only be applied to the membership of the National Assembly that is prescribed under Article 97 of the Constitution. In this regard, a Member who proposes a Motion for the impeachment of a President or Deputy President must be supported by at least one-third of the 349 Members of the House, being 117 Members. By extension, for the House to pass a resolution on a Motion for the impeachment of a President or Deputy President, the Motion must be supported by at least two- thirds of the 349 Members of the House, being 233 Members. A related issue raised with respect to the first issue was whether the validity of the proceedings of the House would be affected in light of the four vacant seats. Notably, Article 124 (3) of the Constitution provides that the proceedings of a House of Parliament are not invalid merely on account of a vacancy in its membership. That settles the issue. Hon. Members, the second issue was on the conduct of public participation in consideration of the Special Motion and the modalities of such an exercise. At the very outset, permit me to note that it would be absurd for any person to imagine that a Motion, such as the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}