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{
    "id": 1047897,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1047897/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 81,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tinderet, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Julius Melly",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12849,
        "legal_name": "Julius Kipbiwot Melly",
        "slug": "julius-kipbiwot-melly"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for allowing me to speak to this Bill. First of all, I thank the Mover, Hon. Otiende Amollo, for the good work he did. This Bill will set a precedent as it will put together a number of laws that relate to carrying out of referenda in this country. It will set a level playing ground. I ask Hon. Members not to make this Bill for BBI alone, but for the future referenda in this country. It will not be set to only look at the current BBI process in this country, but will also look at issues that cut across not only on politics, but even opinions that the citizens want to discuss. I thank the proponents of the Bill because it is looking into issues that concern us. However, there are certain things that we need to give a lot of input on. First, as it has been talked about, when it comes to referendum questions, whereas the proponent would wish to have a Bill in a certain way, we also need to have a feel of the other parties that will speak on that referendum. It should not be a Bill that only looks at one side of the law. This Bill talks about funding which is very pertinent. This referendum will affect the people if it is well-funded and structured. I want that structure to be taken even lower to the polling station where both proponents and opponents of a particular referendum are given equal opportunities in terms of access to public resources and time to air their views. Clause 13 is on the cost of the referendum committees. The matter that I want to raise is on the limitations of election campaign financing. This is an area which we need to look into. If it is not well-taken care of, this section can easily be abused. I propose that we delete it during the Committee of the whole House Stage. The Chair of the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee mentioned that the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee needed to have sat down and come up with a Bill that cuts across what the two entities wanted. We need to respect committees when they take up a proposal, bring it to the House and it is defeated. If it does not go through, it is good for Bills to be given equal priority on the Floor. Lastly, I have seen a section in this Bill which allows for a number of questions to be asked. We need to develop that and agree as Members that we cannot have a Bill that is one-sided. We have a number of issues that we are speaking to. We are not only saying “yes” or “no”. We will speak on issues that have been discussed in that referendum. In the next stage, we will make new proposals on the number of questions that will be there so that we will not only look at this particular section. We will be looking into many other issues that we will come across. 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."
}