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"id": 174958,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/174958/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 166,
"legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2008, Bill December 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4127 No.24, be read a Second Time. At the outset, let me say that this Bill supersedes the Bill published on 3rd December, 2008, bearing the same title and the other two previous Bills published before that date, also bearing the same title. I would like to say that my task is very easy today, because this is a product of a very consultative process; this Bill has been moulded by hon. Members themselves. I need not explain too much about this Bill. However, for the record, this Bill is going to help us do two major things. One of them is to entrench the Constitution review process in the Constitution, noting that we passed the Constitution of Kenya Review Bill on 4th November, 2008 and the same has already been assented to. This Bill will also seek to introduce an interim electoral body, an interim boundaries body and an interim constitutional court to deal purely with the issues that may arise during the Constitution review process. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Clause 2 introduces amendments to Section 41, which introduces an interim independent electoral commission to be the successor of the current electoral commission. This is in line with the Kriegler Report, which this Parliament passed only a week ago. Following the disputed general election, and following the National Accord, we, as a Parliament, in passing the constitutional amendments at that time, agreed that we need to undergo a process of renewing our institutions in order to restore public confidence in them. One of the institutions that we agreed to renew is the electoral body, so that we can all have confidence in our electoral process. Many people have been asking why the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) when the Kriegler Report indicated that everybody, including the political class, contributed to the chaos that this nation experienced in January. It is important for Kenyans to know that we are proposing to replace the ECK, not on the basis of fault, but because there is an urgent need for reforms in the electoral area. It is, therefore, important that this body gives way to a credible body that can help us renew leadership. If at the moment for any reason we needed a general election, we do not have a mechanism, which Kenyans believe in, for ushering in new leadership, hence the urgency of this matter."
}