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{
    "id": 325251,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/325251/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 249,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Shakeel",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as unpopular as I may be, I wish to oppose this Bill because it is a selfish Bill. It does make sensible suggestions that a number of 150 hon. Members or so, may lose their seats. But is that not the very purpose of the Political Parties Act? We should be loyal to our parties. This Parliament has been a seat of defections and counter defections. I do not even think the people on the ground or citizens of Kenya know which party many of us belong to. This Bill will allow party hopping. So, if that is the case, perhaps, another amendment should be brought so that we allow party hopping up to the day of the election. What is the problem with that? Let us be clear on that issue. Let us not say “one month before;” for what reason? So, if you are saying “three months before” and you are not comfortable with it, then let us reduce it to two weeks. We can party-hop up to the last minute. We can even do it on the bonnet of our vehicles. If you fail to get nomination of your party, you can hop to another one immediately. That is what we should do without restrictions. Let us be clear in our mind. Let us also be clear to our electorate that is the way we want to proceed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue is with regard to the identification cards. Many people in northern part of the country, especially Turkana and other arid and semi- arid areas are denied these very important documents. People in central Kenya and other places are issued with these documents in large numbers. In central Kenya, for example, there are cases where even underage youth are registered. They are issued with identity cards within a week or two weeks. In Kisumu, our people have been waiting for identity cards for nearly three months and they cannot get them. There seems to be uneven playing ground here. So, why do we not just have election on the 4th of January, 2013? We do not need election in March 2013. So, why do we not just bring the election forward to the 4th of January, 2013? Why should we wait until 4th March, 2013? Furthermore, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Registrar of Political Parties or the Government has been playing games on this issue. Why can they not appoint an independent and impartial Registrar of Political Parties, according to the law? There seems to be the law of the jungle in respect to Political Parties Act. Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is my personal opinion that we are not ready for these elections. As you can see already, there are all these problems of party hopping. My humble suggestion is that we have parliamentary and presidential elections on 3rd of March, 2013 and we leave elections of governors and senators for a year or two or until we have a system on the ground to deal with them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to oppose."
}