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{
    "id": 1032019,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1032019/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 311,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kang’ata",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1826,
        "legal_name": "Irungu Kang'ata",
        "slug": "irungu-kangata"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, what we call a majoritarian system tends to give certain incentives in some countries. Our first past-the-post system tends to generate a two-party system like the one we have in Kenya. A proportional representation system tends to create a multi-party system. I agree that what is in the BBI Report is a mixture but I am trying to argue that the beauty of the BBI is that both systems have advantages and disadvantages. There are advantages of the proportional representation system as well as disadvantages of the majoritarian system. It takes the combination of the two systems to counter balance the demerits of either system. For instance, one of the disadvantages of the proportional representation system is that those Members of Parliament tend to be alienated from the ground as they are nominated Members of Parliament who do not have a direct election to the electorate. To counter that, the BBI Report proposes a mixed system so that on one hand, we get the benefits of the proportional representation system while at the same time getting the benefits of a single member constituency system or the majoritarian system. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for those reasons I strongly believe that we need to support the BBI because it is a system that ensures that everyone participates in the entire electoral system. I have no doubt that if the BBI passes, all the problems that people have been saying on how a referendum is going to be expensive on the tax payers or make women go to one of the Houses of Parliament where they will have no opportunity to participate in matters money, I have no doubt that those issues are going to be addressed once we get the final document that will be tabled in this House."
}