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{
"id": 325271,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/325271/?format=api",
"text_counter": 269,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "26 Wednesday, 3rd October, 2012(A) Dr. Nuh",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. First and foremost, I want to thank hon. Isaac Ruto - as other hon. Members have done - for having sieved through the Elections Act which seems to have many flaws, apart from the one we are intending to amend today - for his tireless effort to ensure that laws are in tandem and are a little bit comprehensive in terms of being understood. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, first, I want to clarify - without any prejudice to your ruling - that hon. Members who would have been denied to seek leave of the House at the Second Reading were not here and any hon. Member who stands to oppose the Bill is opposing it in its body but to it being read a second time. That is the subject to the vote of the House. However, I want to say that very many people are terming what we are trying to enshrine in this Act as party-hopping. This is freedom of association. I think what has been created out there by the Press that hon. Members of Parliament want to legislate and legalise party hopping should be admonished. What we should tell Kenyans and what they should know for a fact is that what the Constitution of Kenya has given, no any other party can take away. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Article 36(1) of the Constitution says that: “Every person has the right to freedom of association, which includes the right to form, join or participates in the activities of an association of any kind.” This is association in terms of religion which you want to join; association in terms of political parties that you want to join. At any given time, 24 hours in a day, if one was to wake up in the middle of the night at 1.00 a.m. or 2.00 a.m. and you wanted to join a party, then there should be no law that should subject such a person not to exercise the freedom of conscience that, that person wants to exercise, which has been given by the Constitution. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second thing that I want to point out is that the Act as it is curtails not only the freedom of hon. Members of this House to join any other political party, but the freedom of many young Kenyans who by 4th of this month have not attained their documents we refer to as identity cards so that they can be able to contest for elections. If they do not have an identity card by 4th of this month, which is October, they cannot register as members of a political party. That, in turn, will curtail them from exercising their powers which have again been given by the Constitution that the qualifications of a Member of Parliament shall be, unless disqualified under Clause 2- -- A person shall be eligible for elections as a Member of Parliament if the person is a registered voter. If you are a registered voter by 4th of March or even by 4th of January, but you only got your identity card by 1st of January but you could not have been a member of a political party by 4th of October, then your rights have been curtailed. Is that what we want in this nation; to vote out brilliant Kenyan youth who can make very good leaders but, just because they were not given their identity cards by the Kenyan Government because of some technicalities, not to participate in the elections and not to vie for positions? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to urge the Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs because this is not the end of road. If you look at the Elections Act, hon. Isaac Ruto is amending subsection 8 of Section 34. Look at subsection 3 of Section 34 of the Elections Act. It says that: “A political party which nominates a candidate for election under Article 98(1)(a) shall submit to the Commission a party list in accordance with Article 98(1)(b) and (c).”"
}