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{
    "id": 997173,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/997173/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 123,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "the history of parliamentary parties as vehicles for constituting House Committees hence the setting of a threshold of what constitutes a parliamentary party. You will recall that way back in 1991, the National Assembly repealed Section 2A of the then Constitution and re-introduced multiparty democracy that saw the emergence of many political parties. As a result, political parties took centre stage in the running of the affairs of the House, including composition of the then very few committees that were in place at the time. Indeed, the focus of the legislative and oversight functions of the House shifted from the plenary of the House to the committees. At that time, the rules of procedure which had been amended just before the 1992 elections only contemplated two factions in the House, that is, the Ruling Party and the Official Opposition Party. As a matter of fact, Standing Order No.2 of the Seventh Parliament (1992-1997) defined Official Opposition Party as the party consisting not less than 30 members. Due to the high number of parties in the House at the time, most of which were neither in the Ruling Party nor the Official Opposition Party, there was a desire to set minimum thresholds to be met by the rest of the political parties represented in the House to qualify to sit at the bargaining table as it was then called to claim any parliamentary opportunity or decide on parliamentary matters. Hon. Members, times have changed and indeed they do change and so does the scope of democracy. You may agree with me that, when society transforms its ways of handling its political affairs through various epochs, it is inevitable that the rules that govern conduct of those affairs will change. Between the 7th and the current 12th Parliament, Standing Order No.2 has been amended severally, including at one time, amendments to increase the threshold for a party to be recognized as Official Opposition, introduction of an Opposition Caucus and the current definition of a parliamentary party, which means a party or a coalition of parties consisting of not less than 5 per cent of the membership of the National Assembly."
}