Quorum a must before House business

 

New parliament building. (Photo:Standard) By Peter Opiyo
Nairobi, Kenya: Instances where crucial business could be transacted in Parliament with as few as five members are gone.

The new rules that would guide debate in the Bicameral Parliament come up with provisions requiring the two Houses (Senate and the National Assembly) to attain the requisite number of MPs before any business could begin.

No quorum
This is a different scenario from the previous Parliaments where important business could proceed even with paucity of numbers in the Chamber. It was until a member alerts the Speaker that the Chair would order that the bell be rung and the House subsequently adjourned if the requisite number could not be attained.
But with the new Standing Orders, no business would be transacted until each House has the required number of Members.

The Senate is required to have at least 15 members while the National Assembly must have at least 50 members before it can begin transacting business. The Senate has a membership of 67, while the National Assembly has 349 members.

If there is no quorum when the Speaker assumes the Chair, he shall order that the quorum bell be rung for ten minutes and for a further ten minutes if the numbers are not attained. He would then adjourn the House until the next sitting if the requisite number is not attained.

“If there is not a quorum present when the Chair is taken, at the time appointed for a meeting of the House, immediately after the saying of the prayer, the Speaker shall order the bell to be rung for ten minutes, and if no quorum is present at the expiration of the ten minutes, the Speaker may direct that the bell be rung for a further five minutes and if there is still no quorum present, the Speaker shall adjourn the House forthwith to the next sitting,” states Standing Order number 34.

And during voting, a vote would be rendered invalid if the House has no quorum.
The new rules also define the legislative calendar of the two Houses, in a mark of independence from the Executive.

Thus each session begins on the second Tuesday of February running up to the first Thursday of December. Parliament would however, have some breaks in between which shall not exceed three months. This calendar may also be adjusted through a resolution of the House.

“Except for the Session commencing immediately after a General Election, the regular Sessions of the House shall commence on the second Tuesday of February and terminate on the first Thursday of December,” states Standing Order number 27.

The traditional question time would no longer be on the menu given Cabinet Secretaries are not Members of Parliament. But the new rules have set aside a 30-minute session for members to make statements of general concern.

The Speaker would interrupt business of the House every Tuesday at 6pm to facilitate members to make general statements on topical issues.