Had it not been the opposition, all the Bills would have been passed by now. The agreement at the ruling party caucus was that these Bills be passed swiftly without delay. However, all opposition MPs debate the Bills and some noticed amendments had to be debated as well even though the proposed amendments were rejected by the ruling party.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (Bill No.3 of 2016), a Bill to increase Specially Elected MPs from four to six was passed. The opposition tried hard to oppose the proposed law but the ruling party had agreed at their caucus that the law will pass. The ruling party reasoned that they need an increased cabinet and that the two additional Special MPs would bring the necessary skills to deploy to cabinet at the next reshuffle. They called out a long list of former Special MPs who they contended were men and women of substance who had illustrious careers which helped develop the country. The opposition asked a simple question on which skills or experiences are lacking in Parliament across the aisle which the ruling party intends to bring through two additional Special MPs. This question was never answered because many if not all BDP MPs don't know who the additional MPs will be and their skills or experiences. The opposition reasoned that there are enough skills and experiences in Parliament, especially among the BDP backbench some of whom are more qualified to be in cabinet than some of the current ministers. The opposition argued that any increase of MPs should have been done through the delimitation commission by increasing the number of constituencies in line with population increase. They contended that the process would have been more democratic because the MPs would have been subjected to a popular vote. The Bill was however passed last week Thursday amid complaints by the opposition.
