Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1515600,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1515600/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 218,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Caroli Omondi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Rt. Hon. Speaker. I raised this matter on 6th October, as my first statement in this House. The question was, which of the coalitions was the Majority Party in this House? The courts have made that decision somewhat, by not declaring, but giving the indication as to how the process should be done. We should frame our issues in terms of five questions. On the question is of which is the Majority Party? It is not for the court, Hon. Speaker, or even this House to debate and decide. Our Standing Orders clearly provide the mechanism of determining the Majority Party in this House. The Clerk writes to the Registrar of Political Parties, who then gives us a return based on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) election results. On the basis of that letter, this House gets to know the Majority Party. That is the position in law and this is what I raised on 6th October 2022. This is the path we must go back to. It is not for the courts, Hon. Speaker, or this House to debate or decide the Majority Party. Second question is, who is the Leader of the Majority Party or Minority Party? By dint of this decision, as we speak today in this House, there is neither a Leader of the Majority Party or Minority Party. Our Standing Orders and the Constitution provide a pathway. As coalitions, we must hold elections and bring minutes tabled in this House to determine who the Leader of the Majority Party or Minority Party is. That has not been done. Therefore, there is no Leader of the Majority Party or Minority Party as at today. My friends, Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah and Hon. Junet Mohamed are both out of work. The third question is on the import of this judgement on the position of the Speaker. The position in law is that the Speaker was elected by a majority of Members of this House and this decision does not affect his position. The fourth question is on the constitution of the Committees of this House. We cannot even proceed to constitute the House Business Committee today because we neither have a Leader of the Majority Party or Minority Party. We have to determine those questions first before we go forth and constitute committees of the House. Finally, is on the impact of this decision on the previous decisions of this House. Whatever was done then in good faith, holds. We must now proceed and write to the Registrar to tell us who the Majority Party is. That is the position in law. Thank you, Hon. Speaker."
}