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"id": 224045,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 210,
"legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am also happy with Clause 19 which says that when the Registrar of Political Parties wants to de-register or cancel a party's registration, the party has a recourse to the High Court. It is always important that when you set up a tribunal, however well-founded, the decisions of that tribunal must be subjected to a second level at the High Court, so that those who are aggrieved can go to the High Court and be able to pursue their interest. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is the Committee Report which has provided for something that is not in the Bill, that I think we need to bring it in. We need to have accept the reality that this country will continue to be politically run through coalitions. If we are setting up a fund, we must have that reality in mind, that where parties come into a coalition, then the Bill must also recognize and cater for them, so that parties within the coalition do not just melt away and lose their integrity and identity to the bigger organization. So, the clause that is being proposed by the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs should be accepted. We need to cater for coalitions within this Bill, so that even where parties have agreed to field one presidential candidate, then they have to look at their strengths through the number of votes cast for them and their candidates at the civic and Parliamentary level. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I listened to hon. Ndung'u's contribution and also read about it in the Press today. Also, yesterday, we had quite a number of ladies in the Speaker's Gallery, allegedly, trying to influence the course of debate on this Bill. Part 5 of the Constitution of Kenya confers on Kenyans the right to associate. The right of association will be infringed if we start agitating on every single legislation that we bring to this House on issues of gender. If a party is formed and people subject themselves to an election, and you call elections of a party, how do you start saying that you must elect so many women and men, when you are subjecting them to a competition? I think we are driving and lifting the issue of gender to ridiculous levels. Everywhere you go today everybody wants to talk about gender issues. I agree that we need to bring women on board, but if a party has an eccentric policy of excluding women, the women who are the majority should shun that party and join parties that have got women-friendly policies, because these are matters of policy. If a party has no time for women, why do you want to force it to have time for you? Simply look for a party that has time for you and join, because you have freedom of choice, association and participation. I do not agree with this clause in the Committee Report. If it is brought here, we will marshal everybody to reject it, because we should not push issues of gender to ridiculous levels. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, so that I can leave time for other hon. Members to speak, I want, again, to appeal that once we pass this Bill, and before we operationalise it - because as it is I would urge hon. Members to pass it - the Minister should bring us together, so that we can re-look at it. Ordinarily, we normally have workshops and look at Bills, as hon. Members of Parliament, and enrich them before they come to Parliament to be debated. This Bill came here without hon. Members going for a workshop on it. It is a Bill, as hon. M. Kilonzo said, that can be made even better. As the late Michael Wamalwa used to say: \"A good idea will always give way to a better idea, and a better idea will always give way to the best idea.\" I am sure that this is a good start. We need to bring sanity to our political landscape, and this Bill will do exactly that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}