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{
    "id": 1426666,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1426666/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 368,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The Bill is a bipartisan Bill that is co-sponsored by the Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader of this House. It, therefore, means that the issues that have been put in this Bill, both parties of the House have had a position to ensure that they support and enhance the transparency and process of undertaking the election from one cycle to the other. Madam Temporary Speaker, in the process of undertaking public participation and engaging players in the election sector and cycle, several proposals have come out. Members have spoken to those many proposals, including the proposals on certain amendments that the Members are seeking to introduce, in order to make sure that the ultimate document that we will pass as a House, will have spoken to all the issues. This include the fact that the reports that come out of audit process, arising from an election cycle that the IEBC conducted be also brought before this House. This is because both the Senate and the National Assembly are both critical players in an election cycle. Madam Temporary Speaker, in as much as this is a co-sponsored Bill, I believe that the objective of these proposals especially on the aspect of the expansion of qualifications for those who will be nominated as members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is to facilitate the diversity of knowledge. Election is a combination of both manual and technological aspects. There is a requirement that one or some of the members who will be appointed to be commissioners have extensive knowledge in Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Finance or related expertise. It is aimed at ensuring that if we should go fully automated in our elections, we have people in the secretariat and commission that will be able to speak within the certain aspects of understanding how technology is involved in elections and what we need to improve on in our current election processes. Madam Temporary Speaker, that is a very important inclusion in the amendment to the law so that as we go to next election cycle, we have sort of a streamlined process. Should we need technology, we have a commission which has knowledge in that field. Part of the issues which were raised in the proposals were from parties who went to court. Remember we have had a lot of litigation in the provisions of the Elections Act, the IEBC Act, and related matters. The proposal to include certain aspects in the selection panel such as the number of commissioners required to form quorum for purposes of transacting the business of the commission, is to align the law as is with the pronouncements that have come from the highest courts in the land. Also, it is to accommodate the comments that came from members of the now known National Dialogue Committee (NADCO). In the course of the public participation process so many comments came where the public and the players in the election sector had their issues incorporated. That is why this document has proposed those amendments with regards to the quorum of the members of the commission. This is to avoid a similar situation in the last election where at any given time, everyone was suspicious of the decisions which were being made by the commission as to whether or not a membership of three or five out of the seven could form quorum. Madam Temporary Speaker, remember the Constitution provides that a commission comprises of three or nine. Can three commissioners be appointed at any The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}