Garissa Township MP-elect Aden Duale has raised questions over the delayed gazettement of the 13th Parliament's first sitting date.
In a strongly-worded statement, Duale, a close ally of President-elect William Ruto raised the alarm about the possible constitutional crisis that could arise should President Uhuru Kenyatta fail to announce the date for the inaugural sitting in line with the stipulated timelines.
According to the law, the president should- after the elections- publish the time and location of the first parliament sitting within 30 days.
“Today is exactly 23 days since the general elections. From a reading of Article 126(2) of the Constitution, there are only 7 days left for the timeline within which the President is required by the Constitution to gazette the date of the first sitting of Parliament to lapse,” stated Duale.
As per the constitution, the first Parliament sitting ought to be convened by September 8.
The former Majority Leader in the National Assembly lamented that there are only three possible days left for the first sitting to eventuate within the law since the official sitting days of parliament are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
In the statement, Duale questioned the motive behind the delay given the election of the speaker is on the table and the possible consequences of the delay. He also contrasted the time taken before announcing the first sitting in the current election cycle and previous election cycles.
"What is therefore Cooking? Is there a deliberate move to delay or negate the swearing-in of Members-Elect? Is there an attempt to create a constitutional crisis by ensuring that Parliament is not in place?" he posed a question.
"Looking at Parliamentary Practice, in the 11th Parliament, the late, President H.E Mwai Kibaki gazetted the date of the first sitting of the 11th Parliament within 2 weeks after the election of the Uhuruto ticket.
"In 2017, President Kenyatta gazetted the first sitting of Parliament and by the end of August, Members had been sworn in. This is hence the first time we have crossed over September without a Parliament!" he added.
The veteran politician has since urged President Uhuru to exercise his constitutional mandate and gazette the dates to preempt the constitutional crisis.
"To this end, I urge the H.E. President to exercise his constitutional duty as required under Article 126(2) of the Constitution and pave way for a new Parliament as elected by the people of Kenya," Duale noted in the statement.
Both major political formations in the country- Azimio la Umoja and Kenya Kwanza, have held meetings to strategize on marshalling numbers to elect the speakers in both houses. The election is expected to be the first meeting in the first sitting after the official day is gazetted.
Uhuru has not openly talked about the elections nor has he congratulated President-elect William Ruto.
On Wednesday, August 31, the President was in Mombasa flanked by Azimio politicians, including Ali Hassan Joho and governor Abdulswamad Nassir.
