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{
"id": 1406251,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406251/?format=api",
"text_counter": 177,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I am saddened that even for the speakers who are speaking here, we do not prime the issue of the two-thirds gender rule. Even in the NADCO Report, we have not primed it. We are an embarrassment in the region. That even countries that are still struggling have better gender representation in their parliaments. I do not know what happened to us as Kenyans. We are always challenged by people that we have very intelligent and strong women, but when it comes to representation, other countries are doing way much better than us. Let us give an example of our neighbour Tanzania. Their President, Hon. Speaker, their Hon. Majority Leader are all women. The numbers in Parliament are more than one third for the women representation. However, in Kenya all we can pride ourselves is speaking better English as if that is the measure of intelligence. Let us learn Kiswahili and English but, our greatest measure of intelligence is when we include women since they are a very great part of this country. That is when we should be priding ourselves as a country that we have made progress. We cannot be making progress in speaking a lot of English. There is another issue of concern that I have not seen us address here. We were very excited when we were saying that we are now bringing technology to our electoral process. Is Kenya really ready for a technological process in elections? Is Africa ready for a technological process in elections? I have been privileged to go to some countries as an election observer- I will not mention those countries now. Hon. Temporary Speaker, there are countries in Africa that we sit and go through the electoral process and there is no violence. People vote nicely and at the end, the results are announced after five or six days. The observers using the old technologies will come and declare that the process was free and fair and there was no violence. What violence do you expect in a computer system? I do not know the computer terminology, but I wish I knew. I do not know what will be fighting with the other in the computer. Is it a virus? Maybe there is a virus fighting the other for us to know that the process was not free and fair. One of the things that I wish and I do not want to delve into because we are progressing as a country... I do not want to go deep into that issue. I would want us as a country, if we really and truly want to forge ahead, to look at whether we are ready for technology. One of the countries that I went to had excellent elections. Ghana is touted as one of the best countries in Africa. During my visit there, the electoral process was open. People voted outside classrooms, and the results were counted in the open without the use of any technology. My concern is that technology provides a non-violent way of rigging, which is okay because many people do not lose their lives. However, this means that we are losing our democracy."
},
{
"id": 1406252,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406252/?format=api",
"text_counter": 178,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suba North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Millie Odhiambo-Mabona",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I support this and thank the Committee for taking a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, we still have very serious issues in our electoral process that we need to deal with."
},
{
"id": 1406253,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406253/?format=api",
"text_counter": 179,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Next is Hon. Mogaka. Is he in the House? If not, let us have Hon. Thuku Kwenya."
},
{
"id": 1406254,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406254/?format=api",
"text_counter": 180,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
"speaker": {
"id": 13380,
"legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
"slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
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"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Bill. First, I want to congratulate the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. This is the first product of the nine proposed Bills by the NADCO Report. In a very special way, I also thank the Members who sat in NADCO, and who were magnanimous enough to propose some changes in the law so that we do not experience skirmishes, struggles and pain after every election. I have participated in three elections and won. Unfortunately, after every win, we are faced with a crisis that culminates in bloodshed, loss of property and destruction of hours that would otherwise be used productively. I carefully listened to the Leader of the Majority Party as he moved this Bill and he said that we should be careful not to amend even a comma in this Bill. I am happy that the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs was firm enough that The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
},
{
"id": 1406255,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406255/?format=api",
"text_counter": 181,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
"speaker": {
"id": 13380,
"legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
"slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
},
"content": "this is not cast in stone. I agree with the Chairperson because this Bill can be changed and improved. Members of Parliament are mandated to introduce, amend and pass laws that are suitable for this country. I have carefully read the Bill and its proposals. In the past, all Chairpersons of the IEBC were lawyers, and we have had to replace them after each election due to legal issues. However, I have never seen them defend the Commission in court as they always have a battery of lawyers to do so. Therefore, I disagree with the proposal that the IEBC Chairperson should have the same status as a Supreme Court judge. I believe that anyone with good standing can be the IEBC Chairperson. We need someone who can manage the election process. We do not necessarily need a lawyer but an individual with a basic understanding of the law. An individual who has served in Parliament for a long time is good enough to chair the electoral body. This is one area where I will be proposing an amendment. We need to open up this position and stop giving preferences to certain professional groups. Honourable Temporary Speaker, I have noted the proposal in Clause 6, which states that “Commission shall, after every general election, review its operation and make the necessary changes required to make its operations more efficient, effective, transparent, and accountable.” I agree with this proposal as every organisation should review itself after completing a task. However, we are aware of the past controversies surrounding election processes. Presently, we are faced with issues concerning the 2022 election, with one of the disputing groups calling for an audit of the election. The NADCO Report suggest that a committee should be formed to interrogate the 2022 election because some people want the servers to be opened. However, the said committee is not anchored in any legal framework. An audit after every election would be critical so that checks and balances are provided. The audit committee's mandate should be grounded in law. As much as we will allow IEBC to review itself, a committee should be appointed by the President in the same manner as the IEBC commissioners. This will bring to rest some of the worries that every participant in an election goes through. Instead of resorting to demonstrations, we can wait for this committee to conduct a post-election audit. This will cure some of the problems that we have been facing after every electoral cycle. If this committee is anchored in law, it will help cure some of these issues. I am happy that the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs plans to propose an amendment. In case it slips through his fingers, I will also propose an amendment that the term for the secretary to the Commission should not be less than six years. In the event we appoint one today, he will run an election because his term exceeds an electoral cycle. The proposal for a three-year renewable term limit is not reasonable. The issue of boundary review is immediate and should be addressed urgently. We are running out of time as the Constitution provides that boundary reviews should be conducted at least once in every eight years and not more than every 12 years. We are now approaching the 12-year mark. Therefore, we need to take action sooner rather than later. We must go beyond the proposed amendments and take advantage of this moment to review the Constitution and make the necessary changes. In 2010, when our Constitution was birthed, our population was around 30 million. Today we are approaching the 55 million mark yet our constituencies remain the same. This is limiting as the Constitution only provides for 290 constituencies. It cannot be that we are under lock and key. As members of Parliament and legislators, we should unlock ourselves and give Kenyans fair representation in this House. Hon. Temporary Speaker, on the issue of wards, the Commission has a free hand to increase the number of wards at any given time. However, as far as constituencies are concerned, we are bound by the Constitution. Therefore, it is about time we revisited Article 89 on review of boundaries so that we make an amendment and increase the number of constituencies in this country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
},
{
"id": 1406256,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406256/?format=api",
"text_counter": 182,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
"speaker": {
"id": 13380,
"legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
"slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
},
"content": "With those remarks, I support this Bill but I have my reservations. I am going to bring amendments during the Committee of the whole House so that we align and make sure that this law serves the people of Kenya. I thank you for the opportunity."
},
{
"id": 1406257,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406257/?format=api",
"text_counter": 183,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Next is Hon. Gladys Boss Shollei, who will be followed by Hon. Omboko Milemba."
},
{
"id": 1406258,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406258/?format=api",
"text_counter": 184,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Uasin Gishu County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gladys Boss",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this very important Bill. When I stand here, I speak as someone who was part of the initial team – the Interim Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that changed our electoral management system. I also stand here as someone who is an expert in election operations. Looking at this Bill, I know that many of my colleagues have said that there is a problem with amending the electoral law after every election. There is nothing wrong with doing that at all. The international practice is that after every election, the electoral management body is supposed to undertake a review, re-look at its operations, look at the challenges that were raised in various election petitions, look at what the courts pronounced themselves on, and based on that, they re-look at the law and make sure that it is aligned with those challenges. It also looks at some of the laws that did not make sense and caused challenges during the election management process and then make changes. So, in fact, it is a positive thing. If you look at the history of election management in Kenya, we made the turnaround after the 2007 post-election violence. What happened is that our election system had several challenges. It caused violence after every election. During that time, Kenya had what we call the Kriegler Commission, which went round the country, interviewed people and reviewed the entire register."
},
{
"id": 1406259,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406259/?format=api",
"text_counter": 185,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Technical hitch)"
},
{
"id": 1406260,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406260/?format=api",
"text_counter": 186,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Madam Shollei, Proceed."
}
]
}