Ford Kenya proposes hybrid system of government to tame poll chaos
George Kebaso @Morarak
Ford Kenya party yesterday proposed a hybrid system of government where the president is elected directly by the people.
The party says the model would pave the way for a Prime Minister (PM) who would be a Member of Parliament appointed by the President and vetted by Parliament.
It argued that since political competition in Kenya has largely been reduced to a battle of ethnic and regional arithmetic, usually leading to post-election unrest, the hybrid system of governance would be the cure against the ethnic chaos and other representation imbalances.
“To cure this winner-take-it-all problem associated with the presidential system and perceived interference in the other arms of government, Ford Kenya proposes for a hybrid system of government where the national executive will be composed of a President and Deputy President directly elected by the people, on a joint or coalition ticket; and a Prime Minister who will be a Member of Parliament and nominated by the party or coalition with the majority representation in Parliament, and appointed by the President,” the party’s chairman, Senator Moses Wetang’ula said yesterday.
Presenting views
While presenting its views and recommendations to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Steering Committee in Nairobi, the party said the presidency would be purely an executive office, and the removal of the PM would be through a parliamentary process.
“Most Kenyans want to have a say in the person who should be their President, by directly electing him or her.
They also want their President to share political power and responsibilities with other constitutional political offices. They are equally conscious not to create two or more competing centers of power that may create conflicts,” Wetang’ula said.
Wetang’ula, party secretary general Eseli Simyu (Tongaren MP); National Assembly deputy minority Whip Chris Wamalwa observed that the sense of exclusion by the other communities and regions that are not adequately represented is created by those in leadership.
The Ford Kenya officials expressed their support to the ongoing process, noting that it should be able to eliminate the longstanding ethnic entitlement, where a community has to benefit from public resources, only when one of its own at the helm of power and leadership.
