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{
    "id": 1277710,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1277710/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 75,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Deputy Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Members, Article 119 of the Constitution accords any person the right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority. Further, Standing Order 225(2)(b) requires the Speaker to report to the House any petition other than those presented by a Member. In this regard, I wish to report to the House that my office has received a petition from the Centre for Accountability, Reform and Democracy calling for the delimitation of electoral units. The petitioners state that on 9th January 2012, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) published its revised preliminary report relating to the delimitation of boundaries of constituencies and wards, which was presented to the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on the same date. The petitioners further state that after considering the recommendations by Parliament on its revised preliminary report, IEBC published the National Assembly Constituencies and County Assembly Wards Order, 2012, dated 6th March 2012, published in the Kenya Gazette as Legal Notice No.14 of 2012. The Gazette informs the present constituencies and wards in place. The petitioners appreciate that following the publication of the final report and the National Assembly Constituencies and County Assembly Wards Order, 2012, complaints were raised regarding how 80 extra constituencies and 1,450 county assembly wards were created, their distribution, their names, boundaries, and areas of allocation. The petitioners note that following the provisions of Article 89(2) of the Constitution, the next review of boundaries of constituencies and wards must be undertaken and concluded by March 2024. The petitioners are worried that Parliament has not developed a legal framework for creating and determining sub-locations that take into account the obligation of IEBC to achieve population parity progressively. The petitioners aver that IEBC has been dysfunctional since the August 2022 General Election. The Commission is presently in limbo pending the recruitment of new commissioners. Thus, no substantive constitutional functions can be discharged by the Commission. The petitioners, therefore, pray that the National Assembly engage the relevant authorities and stakeholders to take a more proactive role to ensure that the review of electoral units is carried out constitutionally compliant, including meeting the deadline established under Article 89(2) of the Constitution. Having determined that the matters raised by the petitioners are well within the authority of this House and further that the matters raised in the Petition are not pending before any court of law, constitutional or legal body, I hereby commit the Petition to the Public Petitions Committee for consideration, pursuant to Standing Order 208A. The Committee is required to consider the Petition and report its findings to the House and the Petitioners in accordance with Standing Order 227(2). Hon. Members, there is another Petition by Hon. Adams Kipsanai, Member for Keiyo North."
}