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{
"id": 224040,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/224040/?format=api",
"text_counter": 274,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 210,
"legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
"slug": "moses-wetangula"
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, parties will also get donations. I do not agree with my learned friend, Madam Minister, that we put a threshold of Kshs1 million for donations to parties. If, Mr. Biwott, for example, loosens his hand and wants to hand over his billions to a political party, so be it! Why should we stop him? It should be free for anybody to donate his or her funds to 1000 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 26, 2007 a party. If a party that has an overdose of donations uses that money well, it may develop its programmes and compete favourably in an election. I do not think we should limit donations to Kshs1 million. Let us leave it to those who are generous to contribute to parties. Where we should be limit is the amount of money that is contributed to any party by--- I also agree with Dr. Kibunguchy that the word \"alien\" is a bit offensive. We should use \"non-Kenyans\". Where non- Kenyans or foreigners are contributing to parties, we should be very careful because we do not want to create a situation where our parties will be funded and controlled from Washington, London, Nigeria, or even managed by terror groups. We need to agree that the Bill is right. But we should not agree with that provision. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Clause 18 provides for de-registration of political parties. I notice that the Bill provides for circumstances under which a party may be de-registered. I agree that the Registrar should have powers to register and de-register parties. But we need to look at the criteria very carefully. Clause 18(1)(e) reads:- \"The Registrar shall cancel the registration of a political party if satisfied that the political party- (e) has not, for each of the two previous general elections, secured, at least, 5 per cent of the national vote;---\" That is very dangerous. It goes back to what I have just said. I think Mr. H.M. Mohammed will be happy to hear this. You will find that the aggregate of our colleagues' votes from North Eastern Province, if they belong to one party, may, all together, not constitute five per cent of the national vote. But it is a vote, nonetheless. We cannot use that to de-register a party. That will be an unreasonable criteria. We should look at the number of votes a party garners, and the number of civic and parliamentary seats that the party is able to bring to this House or councils and weigh them. We shall then gauge what gives a better advantage to a party. If a party is de-registered for that reason, and if our colleagues from North Eastern Province are members of one single party, you can imagine the havoc that we will cause in that area, politically. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I read a letter from the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK). I agree it is important to have a Registrar of Political Parties. I also agree that the Registrar of Political Parties should be domiciled at the ECK. But I do not agree that the Registrar of Political Parties, who is domiciled at the autonomous ECK, should also be autonomous. We cannot have an autonomous body within an autonomous body. I want to suggest that the Minister re-defines the role of the Registrar and simply say that the Registrar of Political Parties shall be an officer within the ECK and leave it at that! The rest will be details founded in the rules and law that govern the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), because we will create a conflict."
}