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"content": "instantaneous ruling directing that a further vote be taken within five sitting days, pursuant to Standing Order No.62(2). Hon. Members, for avoidance of doubt, Standing Order No. 62(2) and (3) provides as follows: “(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), whenever a Bill or a special Motion the passage of which requires a special majority in the Assembly fails to obtain the required majority and the vote results in a majority of the “Ayes” but the “Noes” have not numbered at least one third of all the Members of the Assembly, the Speaker may direct that a further vote be taken on the particular question, and the further vote shall be taken within five sitting days from the day the first vote was taken. (3) If the Speaker does not so direct any further vote, or if on such further vote the fixed majority is not obtained, the Speaker shall declare that the Motion is negatived.” Hon. Members, it is important to note that the provisions of Standing Order No. 62 have been in existence since the 7th Parliament and my predecessors applied the provisions of that Standing Order in relation to Bills or Special Motions which required a fixed majority sparingly. Indeed, during the ruling I made on July 28, 2015, I did mention that the provisions of Standing Order 62 ought to be sparingly referred to and seldom used. Similar provisions also exist in other jurisdictions which allow for reconsideration of House decisions upon a Motion to bring back, for further consideration, a matter previously decided. For instance, according to Robert's Rules of Order referred to in the United States of America, a Motion to reconsider must be made after the action on the original Motion. Until the Motion to reconsider is disposed of or lapses, the effect of the original vote is suspended, and no action may be taken to implement it. Further, in the U.S. House of Representatives, immediately following a vote, the Speaker typically announces that, “without objection, a Motion to reconsider is laid on the Table.” Hon. Members, the Masons Manual of Legislative Procedure, which is the official parliamentary authority in most US legislatures, also states as follows: “....every legislative body has the inherent right to reconsider a vote on an action previously taken by it. When not otherwise provided by law, all public bodies have a right during the session to reconsider action taken by them as they think proper and it is the final result only that it is to be regarded as the thing done.” This provision is also replicated in the Rules of Procedure of Canada and in particular, Rule 9A.11 which provides for reconsideration Stage for Private Bills. From the foregoing, it is, therefore, clear that the provisions of Standing Order No. 62(2) not only exist but are also applied in a number of jurisdictions. Hon. Members, allow me now to examine the issue at hand, which is that Hon. David Ochieng’ seeks to have the House undertake a further vote on the Question of the Motion for the Second Reading of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 1 of 2015). Indeed, during the afternoon sitting on Wednesday, 26th August 2015, the same issue of undertaking a further vote on Hon. Ochieng’s sponsored Bill was brought up, with a substantial majority of the Members who contributed to the resultant debate supporting calls for a further vote. Various reasons were advanced as the basis for the further vote, including the premise that the drafters of the Standing Orders foresaw the possibility of crucial Bills and Motions being shot down by a small minority, hence created a window of opportunity for the House to re-think The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}