The way to parliamentary independence

Over the last few days, the country has been rife with calls for Members of Parliament who voted for the Finance Bill 2024 to resign for failing to heed the concerns of their constituents over the contents of the Bill.

The MPs have found it rough both on the “ground” and online, where enraged youth have put them to task to explain the reason why they voted against their wishes. They have accused them of going to bed with the Executive to pass “punitive” laws. Whereas President William Ruto refused to assent to the Finance Bill, 2024 and subsequently referred it to Parliament for deletion of all the clauses, there are calls for MPs to be independent and pass laws based on their conscience and for the best interest of their constituents.

These calls, however, sound like a tall order, especially in the context of our country where MPs are whipped to toe party stands. In this case, the party leader’s say is final and anyone who goes against the collective stand of the party is branded a traitor and is quickly summoned by the disciplinary committee to show cause why he/she went against the party’s directive on a certain matter.

Political party

The genesis of this problem is our Constitution which requires a presidential candidate in an election to either be nominated by a political party or run on an independent ticket.

The party which secures the presidency will always be keen to whip its MPs to support the government agenda, including the passing of bills drafted by the Executive regardless of public opinion. The opposition, on the other hand, will whip its members to stand firm against the government even if it means rejecting some of its policies. This scenario makes it difficult for the MPs to vote independently in any matter before them.

To solve this, the Constitution should be amended to ensure all the presidential candidates run on an independent ticket. MPs may either run on a political party or independently. The majority and minority leaders should be the certified leaders of the parties that sponsored them to Parliament. This way, we are likely to achieve the independence of the two arms of government.

Mr Sambu is a freelance journalist based in Kikuyu Town. [email protected]