Uasin Gishu Woman Rep Gladys Shollei says the Political Parties Amendment Bill (2021) aims at giving the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) time to negotiate with Raila Odinga over 2022, and see them going into the elections as a united front. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the Woman Rep claimed the president and the ODM leader want to amend the law to make Azimio Movement a political party.
”All they wanted to do was to amend the law so that Azimio can be a political party. They want to give OKA time to negotiate with Raila Odinga. If you listen to any of the ODM leaders, they were clear they wanted to anchor Azimio on the law,” the Woman Rep said.
Allies of William Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi believe the proposed changes are part of a wider scheme by the President and Raila Odinga to clear the way for the Azimio Coalition Party, the reason for their resistance to the legislation.
Read: DP Ruto, Mudavadi, lose in Parliament as bill sails to next stage
However, Suna East MP and Minority Whip of the National Assembly Junet Mohamed has dismissed claims the bill has a secret agenda and has promised a win by a huger margin next time.
It is the President’s and Raila’s bill. This was a rehearsal. We will mobilise over 200 members the next time we have this vote. We had 115 and they had 68. This shows the purported numbers are for eating at Karen. That they even fought physically shows our friends in Tangatanga have no agenda, plan and just shows they were sent by their boss to cause chaos,” the Minority Whip said.
The Political Parties (Amendment) Bill proposes a raft of changes to the Political Parties Act, including allowing the creation of coalition parties six months to a general election, defining a political party, and providing for the expulsion of errant members.
