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{
    "id": 1157956,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1157956/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 336,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": "Most importantly is to also know that we are not doing this Bill for this year. We are doing it for posterity. Hence, we are never late when we do things for posterity. Even if we were doing this on 8th June 2022, on the last day of going home, we would still be within our right to legislate. The other item I wanted to mention and on which I have taken legal advice is on when the courts declare a certain section of law as null and void—that the courts cannot order the Kenya Law Reform Commission to delete those items from Acts of Parliament. It is only Parliament that is constitutionally mandated to do anything to do with law. I disagree with Hon. Kaluma and others who may have had that orientation because, until Parliament pronounces itself on a law, no section of the law can be deleted. Whether or not the courts declare that section null and void, hence dead. It does not apply. That section still stays in our statute books. The most unfortunate thing and I have said this before is what somebody who downloads the Elections Act No. 24 of 2011 from the Kenya Law Reform Commission website, the official website, finds. What do they find? The Act still has a 1(e) and a 1(g) in Section 39. They will believe that is the law of the land. It is because nobody has cleaned it up. Part of the things we are removing in the sections that were declared null and void is actually to clean up the law, for the avoidance of doubt and so that no other person is ever confused because of accessing the wrong law. That is the work of this Parliament. Once we do that, Section 39(1)(c) which is the most contentious and the courts pronounced themselves on it will be cleaned. If we do not clean up this, it really does not matter who wins the presidential election. Whoever loses could as well go back to court and say there is this one Form 34A that has been found from a polling station in Kipipiri. It does not seem to be in accordance with the others. That nullifies the election because, as we were told then, it is not the quantum that matters. It is the process. Kenya being what it is, we have seen the BBI train being stopped through some arguments that have since been torpedoed and reversed by the Supreme Court. We do not want a situation where elections would be subjected to that yet we have the opportunity to clean up the law for avoidance of doubt. That is so that when people go to vote, they know that everything will be done rightly, the presiding officer counts and there is a maximum of 700 voters per stream under the command of a presiding officer. Those 700 votes are then accounted for and submitted to the national tallying centre which is already required in the law, any way. The only problem was the prescribed form of that submission. For avoidance of doubt, it was not in the law. That is how Section 39(1c)(a) was nullified. So, we cannot sit back and say we remove it because it was nullified. Then, we would have a lacuna in law. There will be no way of transmitting those results yet they are expected. There is cross-referencing in other sections of law that ask for transmission of those results but the way of doing it, which Parliament is supposed to do, has not been provided for. So, for those who are wondering, it is not late. We are within our time to do this law. We are not doing it for this election. We are doing it for posterity. If it works—I am sure the Senate will do their bit and we get this law to act and help this election—it will only help to reduce the tension. It bring clarity and to make sure that elections are in accordance with our Constitution. That calls for transparency and the principles captured in terms of what an electoral system should provide. This Bill is providing that. I want to thank the Committee led by the able Vice- Chair T.J. Kajwang’ and his Chair Muturi Kigano, and the input of Hon. Kaluma in that Committee. I thank the whole team for the work they have done in having this Bill. By the time we get to next week, we will have processed the Elections (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 3 of 2022) by the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) and the Elections Campaign Financing Bill, so that we deal with them in one Afternoon Sitting. It is then that people 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."
}