Kiminini Member of Parliament Chris Wamalwa on Wednesday tabled a bill seeking to move the election dates from August to December that would extend President Uhuru Kenyatta term by four months.
In the Constitution of Kenya (Amendments) (No. 2) Bill, 2018, the Ford Kenya legislator wants the General Election moved from the second Tuesday of August to the third Monday of December.
The bill will also extend the terms of other elected leaders where: “The principal objective of the Bill is to amend Articles 101 (1), 136 (2) (a), 177 (1) (a) and 180 (1) of the Constitution of Kenya by changing the existing date for the general election for Members of Parliament, the President, member of County Assembly, and the county governors and deputy county governors from second Tuesday of August in every fifth year to third Monday in December in every fifth year."
Wamalwa observed that the current dates were unfavourable to other activities in the country including the national examinations - a disruption the bill is looking to preempt by seeking the shift in date.
[caption caption="Kiminini Member of Parliament Chris Wamalwa"]
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“The current date unduly disrupts the education calendar, and most importantly, the conduction of national examinations in case of either a fresh election, a run-off or an invalidation of a presidential election.
"The amendment seeks to restore the tourism high season and the aspirations of a section of Kenyans who are not able to get time out of their busy schedules to take part in the general elections at their places of preference. The amendment will also clarify and put to rest all doubts regarding the exact date of the general elections and the term of the current Parliament," he explained.
The bill will go through the first reading where it is introduced to the MPs and assigned to a committee. Thereafter, a second reading will be held where members of the House give recommendations on amendments to be made to the bill.
The legislative process proceeds with the third reading in which a bill is read with all amendments and given final approval by the House.
According to the Constitution 2010: "It shall have been passed by Parliament when each House of Parliament has passed the Bill, in both its second and third readings, by not less than two-thirds of all the members of that House."
It is at this stage where the President will give assent or send it back to Parliament for fine-tuning.
[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta"]
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However, in 2015, a similar push by Ugenya MP David Ochieng failed as it did not garner the constitutionally required two-thirds majority.
At the time, a discussion emerged on extending the presidential term limits with the country's top legal minds stating that a referendum would be required for the bill to take effect.
