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{
    "id": 113581,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/113581/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 481,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Affey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 381,
        "legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Affey",
        "slug": "mohammed-affey"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving this opportunity. First of all, we are discussing a life time opportunity for most of us. Perhaps, in our lifetime we might not get an opportunity to discuss a constitutional dispensation for this country. In fact, the one we are having now, most of us were not even born when it was enacted. Now we have a very unique possibility to make a new constitution for this country. We all support it. The Parliamentary Select Committee did not mean that they have a monopoly of opinion. They made a wonderful proposal to us, which as a Parliament, we must be given an opportunity to ventilate. Now we have an opportunity to do so. What we require is not more time for this House to ventilate this document. Some of the things that the PSC together with the Committee of Experts have proposed cannot be allowed to pass the way they are. It must be noted that constitutions all over the world are meant to mostly protect the marginalized and the minorities. That is why constitutions are made to protect these people. Now we have a situation where if we are given an opportunity to convince Parliament, whether in Naivasha or through a Kamkunji, we should see whether we can panel beat a little bit those clauses, particularly where you want to have an executive Presidency in the manner the draft has suggested. Under the current Constitution, for one to become President, he must get majority votes in at least five provinces of the eight provinces of Kenya. They have reduced the threshold to a minimum of two to three provinces and they have talked about more than 23 counties. The counties are 47. I want the Prime Minister to pay a lot of attention to this because, not only as a Prime Minister, but also as a party leader, he can help us to move forward. We have very serious concerns. Currently the draft suggests 47 counties and half of those counties can vote for one to become the President of this country. This means that if three provinces in this country combine forces--- We know political ethnicity in this country is not likely to end. If they combine the Rift Valley, Central and Eastern or the Rift Valley, Western and another province, they can easily get the threshold of 23 counties. If we do not have an opportunity to ventilate and let the Members tomorrow---"
}