NASA MPs backtrack on threat to boycott first House sitting

National Super Alliance (NASA) legislators have rescinded their decision to boycott the first sitting of parliament on Thursday August 31.

Speaking in Lavington Nairobi County, the legislators led by NASA co-principal and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula said that opposition lawmakers had unanimously decided to attend the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.

“We had earlier promised to tell Kenyans about the attendance of our lawmakers in the sitting sessions tomorrow in the two houses of Parliament and we have made a unanimous decision that our members will attend the swearing in ceremony tomorrow,” Wetangula said.

The FORD Kenya party leader said that new MP’s allied to the opposition will avail themselves for induction and orientation on their first day at Parliament.

Wetangula said that individual parties in the NASA coalition agreed to bring synergy, cohesion and unity of purpose in the execution of duties in Parliament.

“We have agreed to speak in one voice and most probably at the end of next week, we will have a retreat so that we can discuss NASA’s leadership in Parliament, committees and their membership and how our members are going to conduct their affairs,” Wetangula said.

“We have advised our members to have fidelity to the NASA coalition and temptations like crossing to the other side of the floor and supporting their cause are not ideas that we are encouraging because we can lobby for development without supporting the government.”

However, NASA has plotted to derail the election of the speaker of both houses until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the presidential petition.

Parliament’s standing orders dictate that a speaker is elected upon attaining two-thirds votes of all members, with a total of 349 members in the national assembly, a speaker is elected after amassing at least 232 votes.

The Jubilee Party, which held its parliamentary group meeting at state house, has 199 members while NASA has 127 members as independent members stand at 22.

In the senate Jubilee and its affiliates dominate with 38 members with NASA having 29 members and two independent senators.

This comes after the MP’s allied to the opposition said they will boycott the swearing in ceremony until the presidential petition challenging the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta is determined by the Supreme Court.