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"speaker_name": "Mr. Biwott",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, he asked for it, and he has got it. So, let me continue. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my main concern is with regard to the proposed Registrar of Political Parties. I feel that it will be wrong for the Registrar of Political Parties to be in the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), because the ECK has got a lot of problems of its own. Also, the ECK is specialised in conducting free and fair elections. So, we should allow the ECK to continue perfecting the art of conducting elections, so that this country may achieve the best electoral system ever, to be emulated by other similar bodies elsewhere. We need an independent Registrar of Political Parties, who can be located even in the Attorney-General's Chambers as long as he is independent, operationally. The Attorney-General is a Member of this House, and can be subjected to thorough interrogation if anything goes wrong. Alternatively, the Registrar of Political Parties can operate from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, as long as he is operationally independent, so that the job of dealing with political parties is left with one entity, which can ensure that the registration process of political parties is also perfected. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my other concern is on formulation of political parties. This aspect is provided for under Clause 5(1) of the Bill, which reads as follows:- \"Political parties may, subject to the provisions of this Act, be formed in Kenya to further purposes which are not contrary to the Constitution or any other law.\" There is no politics. What is \"purposes which are not contrary to the Constitution\"? There are so many \"purposes which are not contrary to the Constitution\". I think we need a clear definition of what a \"political party\" is, so that there is no ambiguity. My other concern is on conflict resolution. Political parties do have problems from time to time, and there should be a clear provision for ensuring that political parties adhere to their constitutions to the letter. Political parties' constitutions should also define clearly the ways in which their own conflicts can be resolved within the parties, and when a political party should go to court, so that there can never be any ambiguity. We have seen cases in the past. As we create this law, we need to have very clear provisions on this issue, so that nobody will be able to take advantage of ambiguity. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the rights and responsibilities of every member of a political party must also be clearly defined, so that we will not have marauding and diabolical membership, where it will be very difficult to pinpoint a member, and where a member will also lose identity in the performance of their duty. A political party should also have an ideology which people can change from time to time if it ceases to be relevant and adopt an ideology that is closer to its objectives. For that matter, hon. Members should be allowed to cross the Floor as and when they feel they should do so, depending on the wishes of the people they represent. An individual member of a political party should not be dictated to by the whims and wishes of certain oligarchies or certain cliques within the party. It is not every member in a political party who has a say. The say is always with those who \"drive\". Sometimes, when one feels that he is being \"driven\" to the wrong direction, or away from their conviction on which they stood for election and got support, they should be allowed to cross over to another party. 1008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 26, 2007 However, I support the provision that if an hon. Member wishes to cross over to another party, they should communicate their intention in writing. It is important that a party member commits themselves in writing that they have actually moved to another party for good or for worse. That aspect was actually taken care of when this Parliament, at some stage in the past, introduced a resignation provision, which required that once a Member of Parliament crossed the Floor, he had to go back home and face the electorate afresh. That was the correct approach. As of now, people are crossing the Floor with impunity; I do not think this practice has any legal basis. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir on the issue of funding of political parties, the way it is done at the moment promotes ethnicity. The politics of today is by and large ethnic, whether you want to see it as such or not. People vote because they perceive that leadership is synonymous with ethnic groupings. So, if you reward votes only, you are actually rewarding or promoting ethnicity, and undermining the interests and the welfare of the minority in this country. I think we should relate funding of political parties to the number of Members of Parliament, or the councillors in the various localities. That will be reflective of the legislative authority of the nation. A least, it will be based on the people who will have been brought to this House by voters as determined by the ECK. This may have an indirect relation to numbers. Pegging the funding of political parties on the number of Members of Parliament, or councillors, reduces the effect of ethnicity. So, I would suggest that this Bill be subjected to severe interrogation, first of all by adopting the suggestion that has been made by the Departmental Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs, and secondly, by incorporating into it the contributions made by the hon. Members who have spoken. More so, we could take it to a kamukunji, or a committee, to thoroughly study it. Probably, that way we could get better brains to interrogate it more and come up with a Bill which actually approximates to what really happens in the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not worried so much about the number of political parties, because most of them will fizzle out as time goes by, and as Kenya advances. Kenya is actually advancing towards being a united country, where tribes and other things will not, really, matter. We are just a little bit short of that optimal position. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me this opportunity and I beg to support this Bill. I think the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs is doing a fairly good job and should be commended and supported. Thank you."
}