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{
    "id": 1136034,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1136034/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 285,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tongaren, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Eseli Simiyu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 141,
        "legal_name": "David Eseli Simiyu",
        "slug": "david-eseli"
    },
    "content": "This is my third term in Parliament, and in all my time here, I have been in a coalition. In fact, I was also part of the group that negotiated the formation of the past two coalitions – the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), and later on, the National Super Alliance (NASA). I can assure the House that Kenya is a coalition of nations like the Luhya nation, the Kikuyu nation and so on. Those are all different nations. Kenya was crafted by the colonialists and now we are a coalition of all those nations. We cannot escape the fact that our politics will also be governed by coalitions. These coalitions are an attempt to overcome the issue of exclusivity in the running of the Government. They are curing the issue of exclusivity so that people can feel included in the governance of the country. If you do not remember your history, you are bound to repeat the same mistakes. We all saw the Jubilee Party coalition opting to form one juggernaut party in the recent past. In the process, it is slowly imploding. The NASA coalition eventually imploded because of issues of funding. All these issues need a cure, and this is one way to do so. I will be very brief with this last comment. It is important that we all note that there are those who are concerned about the timeline of forming coalitions. We must note several things. First, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will require time in order to work on the ballots and other things. That timescale cannot be ignored, and it has to be done properly. We all know the history of the IEBC and the issues it has had with procurement. We must give them enough time to go through the procurement process. There are those who are uncomfortable with the time stipulated in the Bill for the formation of coalitions. This discomfort is mostly dishonest because there are several parties which are well- known for sitting on the fence, waiting for the highest bidder. These parties fear that if they are told to form coalitions six months to the election, it will be discovered which side they lean towards. They are hoping to ride in such a way that they are not discovered until three months to the elections. That is the discomfort about the timeline. Otherwise, there should be no discomfort about the timeline. If you want to play clean politics, form your coalition early enough so that you are able to campaign and also give the IEBC enough time to prepare the ballots. I support this Bill. I insist that as Kenyans, we must rise up to correct the mistakes that we have made and ensure that we do not repeat them."
}