Grand Opposition Doomed to Fail !

The idea of a Parliamentary Opposition in a democracy is excellent where political parties function democratically and elections are conducted in a free and fair manner. Parties that form oppositions in parliaments play an extremely important role in keeping governments on their toes and making sure legislatures are never used as rubber stamps.

The motion that has just been passed in Parliament, recommending the formation of a Grand Opposition is, however, likely to be a total failure . This is mainly because the man who really controls Parliament, Raila Odinga , opposes the Grand Opposition. As a matter of fact he sees it as a sinister move to deny him the leadership of the majority party in the Legislature. And it must be remembered that Raila does not take those who challenge him politically lightly. He has always been the top boss of every political party he has established. And ODM is one of those parties. So whoever joins the Grand Opposition from ODM will never be forgiven by the Prime Minister who is an extremely dangerous person to have as apolitical enemy. Ask Mwai Kibaki and he will tell you for nothing.

Unfortunately , those forming the Grand Opposition do not have a party of their own . MPs belonging to the ODM can always be summoned by Raila and be, accordingly, disciplined. We all saw how they were regimentally organised to vote for the current Speaker. Those belonging to PNU can simply be given a deaf ear by Mwai Kibaki . This is his normal way of dealing with his political enemies and it sometimes has worked wonders. Grand Opposition supporters will also find it difficult to form a Parliamentary Group without a political party.

The Budalangi MP, Ababu Namwamba, is the brain behind the Grand Opposition idea. He is also the darling of young people in both Western Province and among those who harbour serious doubts about the success of the current coalition Government. As a Kenyan, he obviously enjoys the right to associate with whoever he wants ; but that right must adhere to some well established rules which demand that he obeys the law. The fact that he wants to come up with a new Bill to establish a Grand Oppositions means at the moment there is no law backing such an Opposition. Once it is formed, however, it will be a power to reckon with. In the unlikely event that such an Opposition is fashioned, it will, most certainly, have its own Parliamentary Group which could, at any time, hold the Government to ransom as no Bill will be passed without its approval. That is the main reason why Raila Odinga and Mutula Kilonzo are opposing its establishment

Leaders of the so called Grand Opposition actually come from political parties that have agreed to form a Grand Coalition Government. This business of a Grand Opposition came about after the formation of the Cabinet and it looks like a brainchild of disappointed people who failed to get any position in the new Government. Besides that, it will be a Herculean task to change the motion into a Bill that will develop into a law establishing an official Opposition in Kenya. Anyone who backs that Bill will probably be seen by both the PNU and ODM as a traitor, who does not want the current government to succeed.

The idea of forming a Grand Opposition brings some critical questions to mind: Is it possible to form such an Opposition without a separate political party outside ODM and PNU? Can MPs still disown political parties that sponsored them to Parliament and remain MPs without seeking new mandate from the electorate? Where will the new Opposition get funds from to organize what will virtually be a de facto political party?

Despite the disappointment of scores of MPs for missing cabinet positions, they will still have to toe party lines according to the wishes of Raila Odinga in ODM and Mwai Kibaki in PNU. Unfortunately it does not look like Kibaki and Raila will back the Grand Opposition, simply because it may weaken the support they have in Parliament from their backbenchers. In any case the Grand Opposition itself will have to poach members from Raila’s ODM and Kibaki’s PNU.

This, however, does not mean that a constructive parliamentary opposition cannot be exercised from the backbenches without forming an Official Opposition. It is possible to have a functioning opposition that is loyal to the Government. In Britain the Opposition is supposed to be loyal and is in fact referred to as “Her Majesty’s Opposition”. This does not mean that it is not supposed to be a strong Opposition.

An Opposition that is formed in Parliament to teach the government a lesson for forgetting certain individuals while formulating the Cabinet is an Opposition that will not genuinely perform its duties properly because its only commitment is to disappointment. It will therefore oppose for the sake of opposing. A loyal Opposition that, on the other hand, spontaneously emerges from the backbench will genuinely oppose some specific government policies in order to correct what is manifestly wrong in legislation. Members of such an opposition will oppose in order to improve what is passed by Parliament for the betterment of the country. History is full of dedicated parliamentarians of that calibre, including such personalities as Martin Shikuku and the late J.M. Kariuki.

Those trying to form the Grand Opposition will soon realize that the dangerous game they are trying to play could easily backfire and throw them into political oblivion. They are trying to oppose such giants in the game as Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki. The combined force of these two is strong enough to make any current MP get into the dustbin of political history. This does not at all mean that it is unwise to oppose the current government when it makes such obvious mistakes as the formation of a blotted Cabinet.

Instead of trying to commit political suicide by taking the bull by its horns through the formation of a Grand Opposition, the politicians concerned could keep the Cabinet busy by asking relevant questions about the harmonization of party manifestos while building the nation. Questions time in Parliament should be filled with penetrating inquiries about different ministers’ activities and the justification of their existence.

As things stand today, anyone will be forgiven to suspect the Grand Opposition is being formed for extremely selfish reasons. If the purpose is to make sure that this country will be governed in a transparent manner without any corruption or nepotism, then that can easily be done from the backbench without any Bill to form an official Opposition. If all Member of Parliament, regardless of political parties they come from, performed their duties as elected legislators diligently then the Government would automatically be kept on its toes all the time.

The passing of a motion to bring up a Bill to establish a Grand Coalition will spark off a hot debate that will separate the horses from the mules in political argument. The Bill will most certainly not see the light of the day without very thought provoking contribution from all sorts of people in every sector, particularly the civil society, of our community. The debates should be conducted in a sincere manner that is meant to enhance our democratic values.

The supremacy of our Legislature would be meaningless without its support from grassroots which could only come about through open debates regarding its shape, structure and form. The manner in which the people have accepted the present formation of the Grand Coalition Government means they believe in actions rather than words. An Opposition for its own sake would be based on the latter instead of the former. Now is the time to get views from the Church, NGOs, professionals, trade unions and academics about the matter.

The most fundamental question to ask is whether Parliament could be just as democratic without Opposition as when it has one . The very fact that such a motion could go through means a latent opposition, which is functionally operational, does indeed exist. But a Grand Opposition that will end up becoming a main instrument to oppose the policies of ODM and PNU? Not likely at the moment. Those two constitute today's Parliament in Kenya.