Raila’s plan to ‘award himself’ a seven year Presidency term

The calls of Referendum have gained a new twist with some of the demands tabled by the team led by Raila Odinga and the building bridges initiative  becoming public.

The team have a series of demands which they think it is appropriate for this country and ensuring that the spirit enshrined in the constitution of Devolution is achieved.

ODM has made radical recommendations to the handshake team, including a single seven-year term for the next head of state and a Parliament smaller by half.

The proposals that would trigger a referendum are likely to be the next battlefront between ODM leader Raila Odinga and his political nemesis, Deputy President William Ruto.
Raila’s party also proposes a parliamentary system of government and a three-tier government structure with 14 regional blocs.

The opposition outfit also wants the Directorate of Criminal Investigations delinked from the command of the national police and made a constitutional agency.

It wants the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission abolished.
In sweeping changes, the Orange Party proposes drastically slashing the size of the bicameral Parliament from 416 to 208 lawmakers. It wants the Senate empowered as the Upper House. Nominated seats would be abolished in both houses.

According to ODM, MPs will have the powers to elect the President who will then appoint the Prime Minister.
“This will remove focus on the presidency that has become the trophy of ethnic competition,” the internal document reads.
According to the proposal, the 14 regional blocs, each made of several counties, will elect a Regional Premier and deputy.
In April, Ruto had trashed the proposal backed by many governors who believe the changes would be a major assault on their current powers.
“Rearranging devolution cannot be by creating another layer. It should be by taking the counties to the wards. We cannot take devolution upwards. [It should be taken] downwards. That is where devolution has to go and we don’t have to change the Constitution for that,” Ruto said
The proposal also calls for regional assemblies, comprised of all members of county assemblies in each region.

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The devolved governments would be allocated 45 per cent of national revenue, of which 13.5 per cent would go to regional governments and 26.5 per cent to counties.

The ODM proposal calls for the Senate having 29 members, including the speaker; the National Assembly would have 180 legislators.

ODM is pushing for decentralisation of the IEBC that would involve creating national and regional commissions to oversee the electoral process.

The party also wants commissioners appointed on a part-time basis by political parties with enhanced public participation to build credibility.
ODM also wants stakeholder input into recruitment of senior staff at national and regional levels, rekindling its protracted fight to have ex-CEO Ezra Chiloba axed from the IEBC.

Do you think the ODM suggestion are justified to help reduce the burden of positions in the current constitutions?

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