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{
"id": 1426701,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1426701/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Thang’wa",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "Cheruiyot, on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024. I want to start by thanking every Senator who has contributed in support of this amendment Bill. We all support that we need to have the IEBC in place. For that to happen, we need a Selection Panel to select the nine commissioners, so that they can start their work. The most measurable public participation is a general election. That is when everybody is given an opportunity to participate in their democratic right to select leaders to represent them in Parliament or county assemblies or serve them in different executive offices. By saying so, we needed to put the IEBC in place like yesterday. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are some pending by-elections, but they cannot happen because there is no IEBC. If you read this Bill, it has looked into all the chaos that happened in the last concluded election of 2022. Clause 2 of the amendment Bill defines who a chairperson is. It says that the chairperson is elected as per the Constitution. However, if you look at what we are amending, or what it is today, it says that the chairperson is the chairperson, or vice chairperson, or any other commissioner who will be acting as a chairperson. That one is going to cure the Cherera disorder. If this Clause was there, we would not have experienced a situation where any commissioner could just stand, pretend to be the chairperson and announce the election. Clause 4, that is amending Section 7A, it says very clearly, that we are deleting subsections 4 and 5. The reason we are deleting that is that when there is a vacancy for a chairperson, any commissioner can be the chairperson or the vice chairperson can immediately become the chairperson. By deleting those Sections, we are protecting the office of the chairperson, so that we do not have the gameplay like we had last time. I have heard the Sen. for Wajir, Sen. Abass, talk about what Mt. Kenya is doing when it comes to one man, one vote, one shilling. Before I say whether I agree with that or not, it is also good to let him know that the population of Wajir is bigger than that of Nyeri. So, probably, if that was the case, he could benefit more than those counties in Mt. Kenya that he is talking about. The selection panel has 90 days to recruit and forward the names to the President. Immediately after that they do that, they self-destruct. That is an indication that we do not want to use public finance to have a panel that can work without timelines. However, I am happy to hear that Parliament can extend their work if there is a need. As I conclude, because of time, when it comes to the delimitation of electoral units, people should be consulted. There must be public participation. In every corner of this country, people must be consulted. People have started speaking, anyhow and trying to suggest some things. I do not think they are in their right mind. For example, NCIC is suggesting that Parliament changes the names of about 10 counties and that they should not go by the names of ethnic groups. Although we know IEBC cannot change the names of the counties. NCIC is okay with somebody going to Kenyatta Primary School, Kenyatta High School, being taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and using Kenyatta Highway to go to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), but they have a problem with a whole county called Embu. 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."
}