Parliament opens Tuesday

ODM and everyone who feels Kibaki is in office illegitimately and illegally considers him to be re-convening parliament on the basis of his first term.

Two Constitutional principles are at play here:

1) The President serves a five year term. Kibaki's five-year term expired on December 30th. Hence the PNU excuse for haste at swearing him on that day.

2) The President continues to serve until a new President is sworn in.

As the current situation is unenvisaged in the Constitution, the assumption has been that second principle prevails.

It is in everyone's interest to have a new Parliament in place for the next phase of the struggle. This includes who'll sit on government side - not just a symbolic but also a constitutional question, given that the majority party, in this case ODM, is meant to do so.