I will boycott Parliament sitting and use my time more productively to campaign for my party leader Raila Odinga, ODM secretary for political affairs Opiyo Wandayi has said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is scheduled to deliver an address to members of the National Assembly and the Senate during the official opening of the 12th Parliament tomorrow.
The Constitution requires the President to address each newly elected Parliament within 30 days after the swearing-in of MPs in line with the House Standing Orders.
The special joint sitting of Parliament is usually an opportunity for an elected President to outline his government’s agenda.
But this would be unlikely as Uhuru is facing a fresh presidential election against NASA leader Raila Odinga on October 17.
"How would I sit in the House and legitimise a speech by someone with whom my own party leader is competing for votes in an election that's a month away?" Wandayi asked.
"Clearly, I am unable to reconcile my mind and conscience to such a spectacle."
In a statement on Monday, Wandayi asked what Uhuru will be outlining yet the Opposition was working towards sending him home in the fresh vote.
"The environment is highly poisoned. Uhuru has just launched an unprecedented attack on Judiciary. These same judges would be in attendance at the opening of Parliament," he said.
Wandayi said the prospect of a President serving under temporary incumbency, and campaigning for re-election, addressing a joint sitting is politically untenable.
"The requirement for the President to address the opening of every newly elected Parliament is superfluous," he said, blaming gaps in the Constitution.
"In fact, once a full audit of the 2010 Constitution is undertaken, one of its provisions that would require urgent review is Article 132 (1)(a) to remove the inherent contradiction."
On Sunday, NASA MPs said they will stage a “mass no-show” in Parliament when Uhuru addresses a joint sitting of the bicameral House.
More on this: NASA MPs to boycott Uhuru House address
In 2016, Wandayi was among several opposition MPs were thrown out of Parliament for disrupting Uhuru's State of the Nation address by whistling.
He was suspended after he refused to leave the House as ordered but maintained that Uhuru will experience similar protests by the opposition.
Read: Expect more rebellion in future, defiant Wandayi tells Uhuru after chaotic address
Among those thrown out were ODM national chairman John Mbadi, Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang and Homa Bay woman representative Gladys Wanga.
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