Definition of “Opposition” within the Context of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010
by admin on | 2025-04-03 07:24:04
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The National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) Report recommends for inter alia the amendment of the Constitution to establish the Office of Official Opposition. The establishment and entrenchment of the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Constitution is proposed in recognition of the value and legitimacy of opposition parties as part of Kenya’s political system. This is described as the person who is the leader of the largest party or coalition of political parties that garnered the greatest number of votes in the immediately preceding presidential elections. The person may further be designated by a coalition agreement as discussed by the runners-up of a presidential election. The NADCO Report further states that the leader of the Official opposition is proposed to have two deputies with their benefits charged to the Consolidated Fund. If these constitutional amendments are to be adopted, Parliament has the role of enacting legislation to operationalize these laws. The NADCO Report enumerates the functions of the leader of official opposition to include; representing the interest of the opposition, providing alternatives to the government in terms of policies; providing awareness in understanding the role of opposition in a democratic state, participating in state ceremonial functions and international parliamentary events among others. This proposal from the NADCO report must be discussed with three issues in mind. While the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 is built on the foundation of a Presidential system of governance; Kenya was colonized by the British who have a pure parliamentary system hence the word “opposition”. This is to say, the need for an official leader of the opposition is a hungover of the colonial Constitution and the past regimes. A lot of people still believe that opposition to government can only come from arrangements in politics. The other issue that needs consideration when looking at the proposal to create the Office of Official leader of opposition is the politics. There are a lot of persons who feel that the pure presidential system prescribed in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 is rather exclusive. The presidential system is a system that supports a structure of a winner-takes-all. The persons who runs for president and becomes a runner up under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 is always left in the cold. As they are left in the cold; their constituencies also always feel...Read more
