A heavy agenda awaits Members of the National Assembly as they resume sittings today after a one month break.
The legislators, who went on recess in early May, troop back to the House to a full in-tray.
Top on the agenda include the fate of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), passing of the 2016/2017 Budget, the Elections Laws (Amendment Bill) and the Referendum Law, among others.
A bill by Bumula MP Boniface Otsula seeking to pull Kenya out of the Rome Statute which creates the International Criminal Court, is also on the agenda.
Tomorrow, the MPs are scheduled to attend the presentation of the Budget Speech by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
Major reforms
During this session, the MPs are expected debate an amendment to the IEBC Act that would lead to major reforms in the electoral body including the reduction of the number of commissioners from eight to four members, serving on part-time basis.
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee is expected to deliberate on the bill today before it is published and tabled for debate.
Last week, chairperson Samuel Chepkonga announced that members had agreed on a number of issues, one of which is the establishment of a seven-member selection panel that will nominate IEBC commissioners. Of the panel, the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) will nominate three members while the remaining four will be nominated by political parties, two by the majority and two by the minority side.
This comes at a time when opposition has been holding demonstrations calling for the disbandment of the commission ahead of next year’s General Election.
Led by the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Cord insists IEBC commissioners are biased in favour of ruling Jubilee.
But the commissioners, led by the chairperson Isaack Hassan, have refused to quit saying they can only leave if they are forced out through a legal and constitutional process.
Jubilee, too, is adamant that nothing short of a formal constitutional procedure can send the commissioners home.
The MPs are also expected to debate the Referendum Law which, among other things, proposes that a person who wishes to challenge the results of a referendum will be required to deposit Sh2 million with the courts.
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