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{
"id": 1049271,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1049271/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Florence Mutua",
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"speaker": {
"id": 539,
"legal_name": "Florence Mwikali Mutua",
"slug": "florence-mwikali-mutua"
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"content": "I beg to move that the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2019, be now read a Second Time, in regards to the amendment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011. Section 35 of the Elections Act (Act No.24 of 2011) provides that a political party shall submit its party list to the Commission at least 45 days before the date of the general election. The principle objective of this Bill is to amend Section 35 of the Elections Act (Act No.24 of 2011) to change the timing of submissions for party lists by political parties for persons elected under Article 90 of the Constitution from at least 45 days from the date of the general election to within 21 days after the date of the general election. The amendment is important in order to accord political parties ample time to nominate persons to be elected under Article 90 of the Constitution. The persons elected under Article 90 as it stands, are the 12 Members nominated by parliamentary political parties to the National Assembly, 16 women Senators, two Members in the Senate, one man and one woman representing the youth, and two Members in the Senate; one man and one woman representing persons with disabilities. The nomination of these Members should, however, be undertaken immediately after the general election and not before the general election to allow political parties to nominate persons of their choice, in addition to taking into account the representation of marginalised groups in accordance with Article 100 of the Constitution. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I will take the House through the disadvantages of presenting names for the gender top-up before the elections. First, the number of women, men, youth and persons living with disabilities to make it through the elections is not known beforehand; neither are their regions. Hence, if nominations are done early, one region may end up getting more women, youth and persons living with disabilities nominated. Secondly, once the names of the nominees are published in the Kenya Gazette, depending on the party strength in the various regions, it is almost a guarantee for a job for a nominee. As a result, the nominees usually cease campaigning for candidates belonging to the political party that nominated them, not knowing that it is the number of elected candidates that will determine the number of those who will be nominated to the various legislative Houses. Without the assistance of the nominees, campaigns become more challenging yet the more the number of elected members of the party, the more the slots for nominees. Third, when nominations are done before elections and a particular person in a political party fails to receive a nomination believing that it was well-deserved, the aggrieved person then joins an opposing camp, hence causing loss to their original political party. This complicates the campaigns at a very crucial time. The campaign period is usually emotive, hence there is the possibility of nomination of unqualified or undeserving persons to merely appease certain interests at that time. There are advantages of presenting names for gender top-up after elections. First, nominations after elections will ensure that political party members who will be nominated to the legislature will work harder with the vying candidates, hence the party is in a win-win situation. The process prevents instances of bitterness by those left out of nominations, hence the campaigns and elections proceed smoothly as one party. Once the dust is settled after elections and the number of women, men, youth and persons living with disabilities is known, the party, with soberness, can sit and agree on a suitable criterion for nomination, including taking into consideration the regions that fared badly in the election, among other considerations. This will ensure that regional and gender balance, more so in the marginalised areas, is met. A good current example is Murang’a and Homa Bay counties whereby, if the political parties had nominated a woman from the two counties, we would have additional 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."
}