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{
    "id": 317651,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/317651/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 421,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to start by thanking the Minister for having come out very clearly yesterday that the exercise we are engaged in should not send a wrong a message that we are attempting, through the back door to postpone the election. It is important that the country knows that we are all committed to the election taking place on 4th March, 2013. I have two small points to make. The first one is as my colleagues have said that IEBC should, again, reexamine its mandate. When they jump and throw to us and the public rules purporting to mean that if you are a presidential candidate, you should pay so many millions and the same for those running for Governor and Senator positions. Who told them? Who gave them that power? We are not going to have a situation whereby leadership of this country is going to be a preserve of the rich. In fact, candidates should not pay anything at all. This is because the cost of doing the election is through the Exchequer. This House has voted for Kshs17.5 billion. The Chairman of the IEBC has that money. What does he want these billions that he wants to collect from thousands upon thousands of candidates that we are going to have for? I believe that during this time, the Minister will have an opportunity to regulate this. We consoled our people so that we get a clear consensus. The last point is that whereas we are blaming the IEBC, there is something which we should help them. I am afraid that the problems that we were having at IEBC because of the tender are as a result of an apparent two centres of power. Some power is in the hands of the CEO and the other power is in the hands of the commissioners through their chairman. It is important that the Minister, during this period, brings the law so that we sought this matter out. It needs to be clear who the boss is at IEBC. Yes, the issue of the tender might be important, but I want you to imagine a situation whereby you have a crisis about the results of the elections themselves. If they are unable to sort themselves out on the issue of the tender, are they really able to sort themselves out in the event of a run-off?"
}