Three petitioners have moved to court to have the 13th Parliament declared illegal.
Peter Agoro, Anthony Murimi Wachira and Augustine Muthiani Muthui are seeking to have their application filed at the high court heard urgently.
They argue the absence of Banissa Constituency Member of Parliament who died last year after being involved in an accident is sufficient ground to declare the National Assembly unconstitutional.
“In the absence of a Member of Parliament for Banissa Constituency, then the National Assembly cannot transact business as it is unconstitutionally constituted” reads a part of the petition.
Further, they state that the National Assembly also violates the 2/3 gender rule and constitutional provisions such as Article 26 (6), Article 27 (8) and Article 81 (b) which secures affirmative action aim to reduce gender imbalances in leadership positions by providing that no more than two-thirds of the members in any elective or appointive positions such shall be of the same gender.
The electoral body IEBC which is the second respondent in the petition has been blamed for failing to conduct by-elections for Banissa constituency.
“The 2nd Respondent has failed to conduct by-elections for the position of Member of Parliament, Banissa Constituency, Mandera County, within the stipulated 90 days timeline, hence have violated the provisions of Article 101 (4) (b) of the Constitution” the petitions adds.
They aver that the application is extremely urgent as it seeks to defend Kenyans’ constitution, public interest, and fundamental rights and freedoms.
“It is no doubt in the interests of fair administration of justice, legitimate expectations and the rule of law that the application filed herewith is admitted urgently for the urgent reliefs thereof to prevent the otherwise devastating violation of fundamental rights of Kenyan citizens guaranteed by the Constitution of Kenya 2010” they said.
Banisa has been without an MP since March 2023 following the death of Kulow Hassan after he was hit by a motorbike on March 25, 2023, in Nairobi.
Article 101 of the Constitution, provides that a by-election ought to have been held within
ninety (90) days of the occurrence of the vacancy in the said office.
On April 21st National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula declared the seat vacant paving the way for a by-election which was never conducted owing to the delayed recruitment of new commissioners.
The petitioners note that further delays by IEBC in conducting the by-election will cause distress among constituents.
“The people of Banissa Constituency have been deprived of, a person of their choice to represent their interests in the national assembly in line with Articles 94 and 95 of the Constitution”, they stated.
The National Assembly and Attorney General who has since been dismissed following the dissolution of the Cabinet are respondents in the petition dated July 10.
Three days ago, President Ruto signed into law the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) (Amendment) Bill, 2024 paving the way for the establishment of the selection panel for the appointment of new IEBC commissioners.
