With the declaration of the Supreme Court of Kenya on 5th September 2022 upheld the Presidential Elections result declared by IEBC on 15th August 2022 following the General Elections of 2022. His Excellency Dr. Willam Samoei Ruto is the 5th President Elect of the Republic of Kenya. He shall be sworn in on the seventh day following the date on which the court renders a decision i.e. 13thSeptember 2022. The Parliament is required to provide the procedure of the Swearing In of the President Elect hence Parliament needs to be properly constituted and have a sitting before then.
The Kenyan Parliament consists of two Houses namely;the Senate and NationalAssembly. Each House shall have a Speaker and Deputy Speaker to be elected as the first business of the house. The Outgoing President H.E Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta has on 5th September 2022 vide Special Issue Gazzette Notice No. 10527 convened the first sitting of the two houses of the 13th Parliament on 8th September 2022.
OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER AND DEPUTY SPEAKER
The COK 2010 at Article 106(2)a Provides that
“ The office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall become vacant when the new House of Parliament first meets after an election.”
Following the Gazzette Notice aforestated, the Office of the Speaker of National Assembly and Senate shall be vacant on 8th September 2022.
Both the National Assembly ( MP’s) and Senate ( Senators) will elect a Speaker for the house in accordance with the Standing Orders. They choose a Speaker from persons who are qualified to be elected members of Parliament and are NOT such members as at 8th September 2022. This means that any currently elected Senator or MP must first resign before being a candidate for the Speaker post.
CANDIDATE FOR SPEAKER
The Candidate of Speaker should have the following qualifications as set out in Article 99 of theCOK2010 and Elections Act Cap 37 as follows:
- For a National Assembly Speaker;
- Must be a Kenyan citizen for at least 10 years before the election
- Must not hold allegiance to a foreign state
- Must be a registered voter
- Is nominated by a Political Party or is an independent candidate
- Must meet the statutory moral and ethical requirements under the Leadership and Integrity Act;
- Must have been Kenyan citizens for at least 10 years;
- Must not hold dual citizenship unless citizenship of the other country has been obtained by operation of law without capacity to opt out;
- Must not be a State office or other public officer other than a Member of Parliament
- Must not within 5 years immediately preceding the date of election held office as a member of IEBC.
- Must not be a member of a County Assembly
- Must not be an undischarged bankrupt;
- Must not be subject to a sentence of imprisonment of at least six months from the date of registration of candidates or date of elections;
- Must not have been found to have abused or misused state or public office or contravened Chapter Six of the Constitution; and
- Must not have been dismissed or removed from public office for contravening the provisions of Articles 75, 76, 77 and 78 of the Constitution[1]
B: For a Speaker of Senate;
- Must be a Kenyan citizen for at least 10 years before the election;
- Must not owe allegiance to a foreign state;
- Must be a registered voter;
- Is nominated by a Political Party or is an independent candidate;
- Must meet the statutory moral and ethical requirements under the Leadership and Integrity Act;
- Must have been Kenyan citizens for at least 10 years;
- Must not hold dual citizenship unless citizenship of the other country has been obtained by operation of law without capacity to opt out;
- Must not be a State office or other public officer other than a Member of Parliament
- Must not within 5 years immediately preceding the date of election held office as a member of IEBC.
- Must not be a member of a County Assembly
- Must not be an undischarged bankrupt;
- Must not be subject to a sentence of imprisonment of at least six months from the date of registration of candidates or date of elections;
- Must not have been found to have abused or misused state or public office or contravened Chapter Six of the Constitution; and
- Must not have been dismissed or removed from public office for contravening the provisions of Articles 75[2], 76, 77 and 78 of the Constitution
A Deputy Speaker shall also be elected from among the members of the specific House ( National Assembly or Senate) as per the Standing Orders of the Senate[3] and National Assembly[4] respectively.
The Clerk of the Senate and National Assembly have already issued the notices for candidates for Speaker to fill out nomination papers. Who do you think will be the Speaker of Senate? Who do you think will be the Speaker of Parliament?
LAWQUERY TEAM
Sources:
COK 2010
[1]http://kenyalaw.org/lex/actview.xql?actid=Const2010
[3]http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2020-12/Senate%20Standing%20Orders%202020%20-%20Final.pdf
[4]http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2020-10/Standing_Orders_2013.pdf