CS Duale predicts Senators voting against Bill seeking to extend Ruto's term limit
By Lucy Mumbi |
Duale highlighted the significant challenges the bill faces in gaining legislative support, noting that the motion lacks backing.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has opposed a bill that seeks to extend the terms of elected officials from five to seven years, asserting that the initiative is unlikely to succeed in the Senate.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday, Duale criticised the bill, which is sponsored by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, stating that it “will not even see the light of the day.”
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“It will not even see the light of the day in the first reading in the Senate. That is not something that should worry Kenyans; that requires a referendum,” he said.
Duale highlighted the significant challenges the bill faces in gaining legislative support, noting that the motion lacks backing.
“He needs two-thirds in the Senate and the National Assembly; he won’t even get 10 people,” Duale said.
He further questioned Cherargei’s motives for extending term limits, asking, “Why does he want to extend to seven years? He must convince us.”
Despite Cherargei being a member of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, Duale emphasised that both the President and the party have rejected the proposal.
“Our party has made its position very clear; in our party, nobody curtails the freedom of another,” he said.
The Constitution of Kenya Amendment (No. 2) Bill, 2024, has elicited backlash from Kenyans and mixed reactions from leaders nationwide.
Currently, the constitution limits the presidential term to a maximum of two five-year terms. However, Cherargei's proposal aims to extend this limit to seven years through the amendment.
“The bill proposes to amend Article 136 of the constitution, which provides for the election of the President, to increase the term of office of the President from five years to seven years,” reads the bill.
Additionally, the bill seeks to amend sections 101, 177, and 180 of the constitution to extend the terms of Members of Parliament, Senators, Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), and Governors to seven years.
Moreover, the bill proposes to amend Article 151 of the constitution by inserting Section 151(a), which aims to create the office of the Prime Minister, who shall be appointed by the President from among the members of Parliament.
“The Prime Minister shall be the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties in Parliament,” reads part of the bill.
Cherargei, however, maintains that the majority of Kenyans support the extension of the presidential term limit to seven years.
He indicated that the Senate conducted public participation by inviting citizens to share their thoughts through an email platform, which, as of October 25, received over 200,000 submissions, which caused its email system to crash due to the overwhelming response from the public.
While speaking in the Senate on October 29, Cherargei claimed that he had experienced a privacy breach following the influx of messages and calls from Kenyans.
“The Senate has so far received 500,000 emails reacting to my bill. As of now, 60 per cent of Kenyans are supporting my bill, and 40 per cent are opposing,” he said.
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