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{
    "id": 1494699,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1494699/?format=api",
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    "content": "that constituency. If you are being nominated, you should be somebody registered in that constituency. I have had agitation. Yesterday, I was confronted by Sen. Crystal Asige here, pitching that a nominated Senator should have money for county operation offices. If you need that money, we should ensure that you come from that county. For instance, if you get money to run your office, it should be Sen. Tabitha Mutinda, Nairobi, running her office in Nairobi; Sen. Crystal Asige from Mombasa, running her office in Mombasa; Sen. Ogola from Homa Bay County, running a county office in Homa Bay. Ordinarily, you should be somebody who votes in that county, constituency or in that ward. Perhaps, I will be asking the hon. Senators to reconsider whether Clause 13 should be extended, so that we do not just say “Member of County Assembly (MCA) voting in that ward.” Let us extend that spirit and intent to be also applicable in constituencies and in our counties. I think it is a fair thing to do. The other point I want to make is appointing polling stations as proposed in Clause 20, which is amending Section 38A of the Act. I was privileged in 2017 to be one of the lawyers who was appearing for Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, in a Presidential Election Petition. Some of the issues that cropped up in that Election Petition is a situation where returning officers would tell us that they decided to set up a polling station in a certain place because nomads had moved. There were no people in the designated polling station. We cannot do that. Polling station should be known by voters. This amendment to Section 38A is proposing that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) must appoint a place that is publicized and known to the voters. If you are in Nairobi and they say the polling station is in Starehe, that should be what the voters in that constituency know and that is where they should go and vote. If you are in West Mugirango and you say one of the polling stations is Girigiri Primary School, that should be gazetted, publicized and known to the voters. We should not have a situation where capriciously Electoral Commission Officials can set up polling stations that are not known to anybody. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you know you practice as a lawyer and we have had serious problems with time. You are doing a Presidential Election Petition and you know the time within which you must sit, sift through cartons of documents, prepare your petition and file. Thereafter, when you appear before the Supreme Court, they will tell you that you cannot do scrutiny in a polling station that you did not name in your Presidential Election Petition. Lawyers are also human beings. We are not machines. Thus, we are giving leeway to the Election Petition Courts to look at the issue of allowing scrutiny in polling stations beyond the time that is given. This is to ensure that you do not need to restrict a counsel and say if you did not name your polling stations where you need scrutiny within seven days, we will not allow you. We want to give our judges an opportunity to hear lawyers and exercise judicial discretion. If they think a basis has been laid, then they can extend time and allow scrutiny. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}