The Legislature

Article 99 — Qualifications and disqualifications for election as member of Parliament

1. Unless disqualified under clause (2), a person is eligible for election as a member of Parliament if the person—
   1. is registered as a voter;
   2. satisfies any educational, moral and ethical requirements prescribed by this Constitution or by an Act of Parliament; and
   3. is nominated by a political party, or is an independent candidate who is supported—
      1. in the case of election to the National Assembly, by at least one thousand registered voters in the constituency; or
      2. in the case of election to the Senate, by at least two thousand registered voters in the county.
2. A person is disqualified from being elected a member of Parliament if the person—
   1. is a State officer or other public officer, other than a member of Parliament;
   2. has, at any time within the five years immediately preceding the date of election, held office as a member of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission;
   3. has not been a citizen of Kenya for at least the ten years immediately preceding the date of election;
   4. is a member of a county assembly;
   5. is of unsound mind;
   6. is an undischarged bankrupt;
   7. is subject to a sentence of imprisonment of at least six months, as at the date of registration as a candidate, or at the date of election; or
   8. is found, in accordance with any law, to have misused or abused a State office or public office or in any way to have contravened Chapter Six.
3. A person is not disqualified under clause (2) unless all possibility of appeal or review of the relevant sentence or decision has been exhausted.

Article 101 — Election of members of Parliament

1. A general election of members of Parliament shall be held on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year.
2. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the National Assembly under Article 97(1)(c), or of the Senate under Article 98(1)(b), (c) or (d), the respective Speaker shall, within twenty-one days of the occurrence of the vacancy, give notice in writing of the vacancy to—
   1. the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission; and
   2. the political party on whose party list the member was elected or nominated.
3. A vacancy referred to in clause (2) shall, subject to clause (5), be filled in the manner prescribed by an Act of Parliament within twenty-one days of the notification by the respective Speaker.
4. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the National Assembly elected under Article 97(1)(a) or (b), or of the Senate elected under Article 98(1)(a)—
   1. the respective Speaker shall, within twenty-one days after the occurrence of the vacancy, give notice in writing of the vacancy to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission; and
   2. a by-election shall be held within ninety days of the occurrence of the vacancy, subject to clause (5).
5. A vacancy referred to in clause (4) shall not be filled within the three months immediately before a general election.

Article 103 — Vacation of office of member of Parliament

1. The office of a member of Parliament becomes vacant—
   1. if the member dies;
   2. if, during any session of Parliament, the member is absent from eight sittings of the relevant House without permission, in writing, from the Speaker, and is unable to offer a satisfactory explanation for the absence to the relevant committee;
   3. if the member is otherwise removed from office under this Constitution or legislation enacted under Article 80;
   4. if the member resigns from Parliament in writing to the Speaker;
   5. if, having been elected to Parliament—
      1. as a member of a political party, the member resigns from that party or is deemed to have resigned from the party as determined in accordance with the legislation contemplated in clause (2); or
      2. as an independent candidate, the member joins a political party;
   6. at the end of the term of the relevant House; or
   7. if the member becomes disqualified for election to Parliament under Article 99(2)(d) to (h).
2. Parliament shall enact legislation providing for the circumstances under which a member of a political party shall be deemed, for the purposes of clause (1)(e), to have resigned from the party.

Article 109 — Exercise of legislative powers

1. Parliament shall exercise its legislative power through Bills passed by Parliament and assented to by the President.
2. Any Bill may originate in the National Assembly.
3. A Bill not concerning county government is considered only in the National Assembly, and passed in accordance with Article 122 and the Standing Orders of the Assembly.
4. A Bill concerning county government may originate in the National Assembly or the Senate, and is passed in accordance with Articles 110 to 113, Articles 122 and 123 and the Standing Orders of the Houses.
5. A Bill may be introduced by any member or committee of the relevant House of Parliament, but a money Bill may be introduced only in the National Assembly in accordance with Article 114.

Article 110 — Bills concerning county government

1. In this Constitution, "a Bill concerning county government" means—
   1. a Bill containing provisions affecting the functions and powers of the county governments set out in the Fourth Schedule;
   2. a Bill relating to the election of members of a county assembly or a county executive; and
   3. a Bill referred to in Chapter Twelve affecting the finances of county governments.
2. A Bill concerning county governments is—
   1. a special Bill, which shall be considered under Article 111, if it—
      1. relates to the election of members of a county assembly or a county executive; or
      2. is the annual County Allocation of Revenue Bill referred to in Article 218; or
   2. an ordinary Bill, which shall be considered under Article 112, in any other case.
3. Before either House considers a Bill, the Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate shall jointly resolve any question as to whether it is a Bill concerning counties and, if it is, whether it is a special or an ordinary Bill.
4. When any Bill concerning county government has been passed by one House of Parliament, the Speaker of that House shall refer it to the Speaker of the other House.
5. If both Houses pass the Bill in the same form, the Speaker of the House in which the Bill originated shall, within seven days, refer the Bill to the President for assent.

Article 111 — Special Bills concerning county governments

1. A special Bill concerning a county government shall proceed in the same manner as an ordinary Bill concerning county government, subject to clauses (2) and (3).
2. The National Assembly may amend or veto a special Bill that has been passed by the Senate only by a resolution supported by at least two-thirds of the members of the Assembly.
3. If a resolution in the National Assembly to amend or veto a special Bill fails to pass, the Speaker of the Assembly shall, within seven days, refer the Bill, in the form adopted by the Senate, to the President for assent.

Article 112 — Ordinary Bills concerning county governments

1. If one House passes an ordinary Bill concerning counties, and the second House—
   1. rejects the Bill, it shall be referred to a mediation committee appointed under Article 113; or
   2. passes the Bill in an amended form, it shall be referred back to the originating House for reconsideration.
2. If, after the originating House has reconsidered a Bill referred back to it under clause (1)(b), that House—
   1. passes the Bill as amended, the Speaker of that House shall refer the Bill to the President within seven days for assent; or
   2. rejects the Bill as amended, the Bill shall be referred to a mediation committee under Article 113.

Article 113 — Mediation committees

1. If a Bill is referred to a mediation committee under Article 112, the Speakers of both Houses shall appoint a mediation committee consisting of equal numbers of members of each House to attempt to develop a version of the Bill that both Houses will pass.
2. If the mediation committee agrees on a version of the Bill, each House shall vote to approve or reject that version of the Bill.
3. If both Houses approve the version of the Bill proposed by the mediation committee, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall refer the Bill to the President within seven days for assent.
4. If the mediation committee fails to agree on a version of the Bill within thirty days, or if a version proposed by the committee is rejected by either House, the Bill is defeated.

Article 114 — Money Bills

1. A money Bill may not deal with any matter other than those listed in the definition of "a money Bill" in clause (3).
2. If, in the opinion of the Speaker of the National Assembly, a motion makes provision for a matter listed in the definition of "a money Bill", the Assembly may proceed only in accordance with the recommendation of the relevant Committee of the Assembly after taking into account the views of the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance.
3. In this Constitution, "a money Bill" means a Bill, other than a Bill specified in Article 218, that contains provisions dealing with—
   1. taxes;
   2. the imposition of charges on a public fund or the variation or repeal of any of those charges;
   3. the appropriation, receipt, custody, investment or issue of public money;
   4. the raising or guaranteeing of any loan or its repayment; or
   5. matters incidental to any of those matters.
4. In clause (3), "tax", "public money", and "loan" do not include any tax, public money or loan raised by a county.

Article 115 — Presidential assent and referral

1. Within fourteen days after receipt of a Bill, the President shall—
   1. assent to the Bill; or
   2. refer the Bill back to Parliament for reconsideration by Parliament, noting any reservations that the President has concerning the Bill.
2. If the President refers a Bill back for reconsideration, Parliament may, following the appropriate procedures under this Part—
   1. amend the Bill in light of the President’s reservations; or
   2. pass the Bill a second time without amendment.
3. If Parliament amends the Bill fully accommodating the President’s reservations, the appropriate Speaker shall re-submit it to the President for assent.
4. Parliament, after considering the President’s reservations, may pass the Bill a second time, without amendment, or with amendments that do not fully accommodate the President’s reservations, by a vote supported—
   1. by two-thirds of members of the National Assembly; and
   2. two-thirds of the delegations in the Senate, if it is a Bill that requires the approval of the Senate.
5. If Parliament has passed a Bill under clause (4)—
   1. the appropriate Speaker shall within seven days re-submit it to the President; and
   2. the President shall within seven days assent to the Bill.
6. If the President does not assent to a Bill or refer it back within the period prescribed in clause (1), or assent to it under clause (5)(b), the Bill shall be taken to have been assented to on the expiry of that period.

Article 116 — Coming into force of laws

1. A Bill passed by Parliament and assented to by the President shall be published in the Gazette as an Act of Parliament within seven days after assent.
2. Subject to clause (3), an Act of Parliament comes into force on the fourteenth day after its publication in the Gazette, unless the Act stipulates a different date on or time at which it will come into force.
3. An Act of Parliament that confers a direct pecuniary interest on members of Parliament shall not come into force until after the next general election of members of Parliament.
4. Clause (3) does not apply to an interest that members of Parliament have as members of the public.

Article 123 — Decisions of Senate

1. On election, all the members of the Senate who were registered as voters in a particular county shall collectively constitute a single delegation for purposes of clause (4) and the member elected under Article 98(1)(a) shall be the head of the delegation.
2. When the Senate is to vote on any matter other than a Bill, the Speaker shall rule on whether the matter affects or does not affect counties.
3. When the Senate votes on a matter that does not affect counties, each senator has one vote.
4. Except as provided otherwise in this Constitution, in any matter in the Senate affecting counties—
   1. each county delegation shall have one vote to be cast on behalf of the county by the head of the county delegation or, in the absence of the head of the delegation, by another member of the delegation designated by the head of the delegation;
   2. the person who votes on behalf of a delegation shall determine whether or not to vote in support of, or against, the matter, after consulting the other members of the delegation; and
   3. the matter is carried only if it is supported by a majority of all the delegations.

Article 124 — Committees and Standing Orders

1. Each House of Parliament may establish committees, and shall make Standing Orders for the orderly conduct of its proceedings, including the proceedings of its committees.
2. Parliament may establish joint committees consisting of members of both Houses and may jointly regulate the procedure of those committees.
3. The proceedings of either House are not invalid just because of—
   1. a vacancy in its membership; or
   2. the presence or participation of any person not entitled to be present at, or to participate in, the proceedings of the House.
4. When a House of Parliament considers any appointment for which its approval is required under this Constitution or an Act of Parliament—
   1. the appointment shall be considered by a committee of the relevant House;
   2. the committee’s recommendation shall be tabled in the House for approval; and
   3. the proceedings of the committee and the House shall be in public.

Article 125 — Power to call for evidence

1. Either House of Parliament, and any of its committees, has power to summon any person to appear before it for the purpose of giving evidence or providing information.
2. For the purposes of clause (1), a House of Parliament and any of its committees has the same powers as the High Court—
   1. to enforce the attendance of witnesses and examine them on oath, affirmation or otherwise;
   2. to compel the production of documents; and
   3. to issue a commission or request to examine witnesses abroad.

Article 127 — Parliamentary Service Commission

1. There is established the Parliamentary Service Commission.
2. The Commission consists of—
   1. the Speaker of the National Assembly, as chairperson;
   2. a vice-chairperson elected by the Commission from the members appointed under paragraph (c);
   3. seven members appointed by Parliament from among its members of whom—
      1. four shall be nominated equally from both Houses by the party or coalition of parties forming the national government, of whom at least two shall be women; and
      2. three shall be nominated by the parties not forming the national government, at least one of whom shall be nominated from each House and at least one of whom shall be a woman; and
   4. one man and one woman appointed by Parliament from among persons who are experienced in public affairs, but are not members of Parliament.
3. The Clerk of the Senate shall be the Secretary to the Commission.
4. A member of the Commission shall vacate office—
   1. if the person is a member of Parliament—
      1. at the end of the term of the House of which the person is a member; or
      2. if the person ceases to be a member of Parliament; or
   2. if the person is an appointed member, on revocation of the person’s appointment by Parliament.
5. Despite clause (4), when the term of a House of Parliament ends, a member of the Commission appointed under clause (2)(c) shall continue in office until a new member has been appointed in the member’s place by the next House.
6. The Commission is responsible for—
   1. providing services and facilities to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of Parliament;
   2. constituting offices in the parliamentary service, and appointing and supervising office holders;
   3. preparing annual estimates of expenditure of the parliamentary service and submitting them to the National Assembly for approval, and exercising budgetary control over the service;
   4. undertaking, singly or jointly with other relevant organisations, programmes to promote the ideals of parliamentary democracy; and
   5. performing other functions—
      1. necessary for the well-being of the members and staff of Parliament; or
      2. prescribed by national legislation.

Article 128 — Clerks and staff of Parliament

1. There shall be a Clerk for each House of Parliament, appointed by the Parliamentary Service Commission with the approval of the relevant House.
2. The offices of the Clerks and offices of members of the staff of the Clerks shall be offices in the Parliamentary Service.

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