Kalonzo Changes Tune On Speakers Race
It was also believed that the council was of the idea that the numbers in Parliament don't favour the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya alliance.
Marvin Chege 
UPDATE 1.38 pm: Wiper Party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka, will go for the Senate speaker's position after dropping out of the National Assembly speaker's contest.
Kalonzo was nominated by the Azimio One Kenya Alliance headed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta. He will face former Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi who has the support of the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
"Breakthrough at the Azimio Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting on who to go for the speakership in the National Assembly and the Senate. Hon. Kenneth Marende to go for speaker of the National Assembly and Hon Kalonzo Musyoka to go for speaker of the Senate," Philip Etale, ODM's Communications Director, announced.
Wiper Party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka, dropped his bid for the next speaker of either the National or Senate Assembly, a day after he collected nomination papers.
Viral Tea learnt that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Wiper party had advised the former Vice President to pull out of the race and focus on building his brand.
The council argued that by him remaining in the hotly-contested race, it risked hurting his reputation. It arrived at the decision following its meeting at the party's headquarters.
It was also believed that the council was of the idea that the numbers in Parliament don't favour the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya alliance.
The coalition had initially boasted of more numbers in the National Assembly than the Kenya Kwanza coalition but a slew of defections from Azimio have suddenly shifted atmospheres against the Raila Odinga-led coalition.
Kalonzo's exit now blows open a window of opportunity for Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula to win the National Assembly speaker race. However, he will have to resign from his senator position before Thursday, September 8, when the MPs are set to elect a new speaker.
On the position of deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Uasin Gishu woman representative-elect Gladys Shollei and Rarieda Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Senior Counsel Otiende Amollo are set to fight it out on who will come second-in-command in the National Assembly.
"My congratulations to all elected Honourable Members of the National Assembly. I humbly request for your support as I seek the Office of Deputy Speaker. I pledge to work with all to deliver an efficient 13th Parliament. Your support is critical and will be highly appreciated," Shollei urged her colleagues, even those in the Azimio coalition.
Shollei has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Council for Law Reporting and was a deputy chief election officer of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) between 2010 and 2011.
She then served as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary until 2013. The MP was elected as the second woman representative of Uasin Gishu county in 2017 under a Jubilee party ticket.
On his part, Senior Counsel Otiende Amollo practised law under Rachier and Amollo Advocates. His mastery of the law saw him selected to the Committee of Experts on Constitution matters.
He and other legal maestros drafted the Constitution of Kenya in 2010. Amollo served in the Commission on Administrative Justice as Ombudsman before joining elective politics in 2017.
President Uhuru Kenyatta gazetted the first sitting of the 13th Parliament consisting of newly elected Members of Parliament and senators.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 126 (2) of the Constitution of Kenya, I, Uhuru Kenyatta, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, appoint that the First Sitting of the National Assembly shall be held at the Main Parliament Buildings in the National Assembly Chamber, on the 8th September 2022, at 9.00 a.m," it read in part.
"The First Sitting of the National Assembly shall be held at the Main Parliament Buildings in the National Assembly Chamber, on the 8th September 2022, at 9.00 a.m."
This sitting will involve the election of both assemblies' speakers and the MPs' swearing-in. Article 126 (2) of the Constitution requires the President to declare via a gazette notice the date for the first sitting of the new House within 30 days after elections.
A past Parliament session. /FILE
