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{
    "id": 1426693,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1426693/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 395,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "timelines, some of which have been infringed as Sen. Omar has observed, in terms of by- elections for MPs and for Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs). That being as it may, I support the Bill only because we should have the IEBC in place. However, when I do a proper analysis of this Bill, I see that we are again going to fail. The IEBC we will have will be a failure but they are not alone. We have seen all our independent commissions fail in their mandate because we appointed them through Ad Hoc committees. There is no way an Ad Hoc committee can produce an independent committee. I have never seen it anywhere. I have tried to research across the world and it is only in Kenya that we are trying to achieve the impossible by thinking that we can get an independent organ produced through an Ad Hoc committee. On the issue of commissioners, we need to look at the best practices elsewhere. We cannot assume that we are going to reinvent the wheel in Kenya. When you look at old democracies across the world, electoral officials are chosen by political parties; the people with a fight; the people who are contesting for power to sit there, to represent their interests and checkmate the contestants. It is impossible for an Ad Hoc committee, religious leaders and the civil society on the Selection Panel to do that. What dog do they have in the fight for electoral seats? I am seeing this thing primed for failure. We should think of the Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group (IPPG) that succeeded in this country. It gave us a successful referendum and elections in 2002. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the question of the National Assembly trying to assume that it is Parliament, and the Senate does not exist is a very serious issue. I agree with your submissions when you were on this side that, wherever the word National Assembly appears, it should be replaced with the word Parliament. Better still, it could be replaced with the expression National Assembly and the Senate. There is no way an election can be handled through a law made only by the National Assembly. The wards and the Senate itself are affected because we are elected through this law. It cannot be done by the National Assembly alone; they are not our Lords. The Senate must be included. I would rather it be more definitive than what was proposed to use the word Parliament. We should have the words “National Assembly” and “the Senate”. That is what makes Parliament. Parliament is not made of the National Assembly alone. In fact, it is a misnomer to refer to Members of the National Assembly as MPs, Senators are also MPs. With regards to the concerns that Sen. Cherarkey raised; about what would have happened if the Chairman, Mr. Chebukati, had been kidnapped? Is that a loophole? I think the question of bringing the Presidential Election to Bomas is unconstitutional. There is no provision in the Constitution for having a tallying centre at Bomas. Article 138 (2) of the Constitution is very clear. The election for president takes place in each constituency. We should have results in each of the 290 constituencies and know who has won and then, we just get an aggregation. The people to announce the winners in each constituency are the returning officers. Article 89 is very clear on how to conduct elections. 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."
}