'Bipartisan': An explanation of word that has trended in Kenya for days now

President William Ruto (R) and Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya leader Raila Odinga. [File, Standard]

For more than three days now, the word "bipartisan" has been trending on Twitter in Kenya.

It first gained momentum on Sunday, April 2, when President William Ruto used it in his speech ahead of the April 3 planned demonstrations by Azimio la Umoja.

At the heart of the demos, was a complaint by Azimio team that the IEBC selection panel, which is already at work, was full of people seconded by President Ruto.

Raila Odinga, the leader of Azimio, wanted the laws on who sits in the selection panel revised to also give the opposition a fair chance of shaping the next IEBC team.

It is this conflict that saw President Ruto admitting that the issues raised by the opposition were valid, and a solution was urgently needed.

"I suggest a bipartisan engagement in Parliament on the reconstitution of the IEBC panel within the parameters of the law and the Constitution," Dr. Ruto said in his address to the nation on Sunday.

Speaking to the press a few hours later, Azimio leader Odinga welcomed the president's bipartisan proposal, and even called off the following day's protests.

Bipartisan resolution to the problems facing a nation has its roots in the United States of America (USA), which has two key political parties - Republican and Democratic parties.

During times of political or national crises, elected leaders of the two parties set aside their ideological differences to address the urgent problem.

In such situations, leaders from both sides form a team - which is bipartisan in nature - to brainstorm and come up with solutions that could be adopted in Parliament.

Americans call it "finding common ground through compromise".

Collins Dictionary defines bipartisan as "concerning or involving two different political parties or groups".

Kenyan lawyer Ken Echesa says bipartisan negotiations between two parties seeking solutions to a pressing problem are usually characterised by "a lot of efforts, compromise and cooperation".

In the case of the Azimio-Kenya Kwanza conflict on IEBC commissioners' selection, Members of the National Assembly and senators from the two political factions will have to form an ad hoc committee and map out areas that need review.

The ad hoc team is what President Ruto alluded to as "bipartisan" in nature.

Constitutional lawyer Bobby Mkangi says the terms and conditions of the bipartisan engagements will be guided by parliamentary rules.

Lawyer Echesa, who echoes Mkangi's sentiments, says there has to be trust among members of the two parties for bipartisan talks to be fruitful.

"Azimio will select about eight members to the committee. Kenya Kwanza, on the other hand, will also front an equivalent number. The talks between members of the two parties aim to achieve compromise," Echesa told The Standard.

Lawyer Bobby Mkangi said since the talks are centered on parliamentary rules, then only MPs and senators can be members of the ad hoc committee. He said each side could front between four and eight members.

"The approach the committee will take will have to be carried out within parliamentary rules. The talks could extend to other pressing issues, beyond the problem that was highlighted by the president, which is the composition of the IEBC selection panel," he said.

"For instance, they might talk about how to handle cases of deaths recorded during the protests," added Mkangi.

The current law on selection of IEBC commissioners stipulates that the Parliamentary Service Commission nominate one man and one woman to the selection panel; the Inter-Religious Council nominates two people; Public Service Commission (one), Political Parties Liaison Committee (one) and the Law Society of Kenya (one).

The IEBC selection panel is mandated to recruit new commissioners.

Currently, the electoral agency has no single commissioner in office after the resignations of Juliana Cherera, Justus Nyang'aya and Francis Wanderi.

The terms of chairperson Wafula Chebukati, and commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye ended in January 2023. Commissioner Irene Masit was removed from the electoral board through a tribunal that investigated her for gross misconduct.

The selection panel will, therefore, interview and recommend names of seven nominees, including the chairperson, to the president for appointment.

The Head of State can only appoint the commissioners after they are successfully vetted by the National Assembly.

Odinga had argued that President Ruto could influence who becomes a member of the selection panel by controlling the Parliamentary Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, and the Inter-Religious Council.

On Sunday, Ruto said he was open to reviewing laws on selecting the next Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners.

Odinga hopes the bipartisan team will come up with recommendations that would give the opposition a notable say in the people who pick the next commissioners of the electoral agency.

The fate of the seven members of the selection panel, who are already in office, now hangs in the balance after the president initiated a bipartisan review of the team's composition.

The seven, who were sworn into office on March 2 after their gazettement on February 27, are Bethuel Sugut, Novince Atieno, Charity Kisotu, Evans Misati, Benson Ngugi, Nelson Makanda and Fatuma Saman.