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{
    "id": 716421,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/716421/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, Section 44 that I was quoting, brought by Sen. Orengo and Sen. Kiraitu, the Senators who chaired the Committee, says:- “Subject to this Section there is established an integrated electronic electoral system that enables biometric voter registration, electronic voter identification and electronic transmission of results”. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I listened to the Deputy Speaker, who is also the Senator for Murang’a, mislead the House in every material way. Trying to amend that Section is to create confusion. Good lawyers like Sen. Orengo will tell you that when you want to create mischief in law, you use words like ‘notwithstanding,’ ‘subject to’, ‘without prejudice’ and all the colourful words that give you the law and then take it away. I want to tell this House and the country that what Section 44 (a), in the Bill passed by the National Assembly, is trying to do is to oust the provisions of the Sections 39 and 44, and go back to where we ran from. It is embarrassing for a Government that calls itself ‘digital’ to start running away from digital to manual. In history, electronics came to cure the weight and shortcomings of manual work, but now we have a Government that is trying to take us back to manual. We do not need rocket science to know what they are trying to do. The dead voters are still on the roll. We know the flawed issues of identity cards in the country. In some regions in the country the underage are being given identity cards. In some parts of the country, if one applies for an identity card they wait for six months. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are trying to give discretion to electoral officers; that when an underage or a ghost voter votes, like it happened in the last elections--- In certain constituencies and polling centres, some candidates were getting 112 percent of the registered vote. It has been said clearly that voter cheating in this country is high in Central Kenya, Nyanza and Rift Valley. These are the epicenters of the theatre of theft of votes. We must fight so that at the end of the day, when I go to elections and win, I can win fairly and be happy about it. If I lose, I must lose fairly and congratulate the winner. That is the integrity of elections. If we really want to be a House that we have described as an ‘Upper’ House, we should not be itching to vote. Instead, we should be itching to debate issues. I have seen some yawning and looking very impatient, wondering when the vote will be called, so that they can exercise the direction that they have been given and go home. That vote will come to haunt you. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}