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"id": 50269,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/50269/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Chachu",
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"speaker": {
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"legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to congratulate the Minister for bringing this Bill. This Bill reflects the spirit of the Constitution. It ensures that, as a country, we will have an electoral system which will stand the test of time. This Bill will also ensure that the management of the electoral process in Kenya will no longer be left to chance or trials. This Bill goes further to address impunity in the electoral process. I wish we could even go further to make provisions for serious penalties against those who will violate our electoral laws. The implementation of the proposals contained in this Bill will boost public confidence, which we have lacked for so long in our electoral body and in our electoral process. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one important element of this Bill is that it provides for professional management of our electoral body. It provides for competitive, transparent and immunity-based appointment procedures not only of the commissioners but also of the members of a very powerful secretariat. Another element of this Bill is separation of responsibilities between the secretariat and the Commission. In this Bill, the secretariat will serve as an administrative organ which will play a major role in policy implementation, while the Commission will largely play the policy-making role. What is so critical in this Bill is the independence of this electoral body. Justice Kriegler stated clearly in his Report that in order for us to have an electoral body which will stand the test of time and win the confidence of our people, we must ensure that it is independent. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the question that we need to ask ourselves is: Who runs elections in this country? Is it the Commission or the Commission Secretariat? For the most part, elections in Kenya are run by the Secretariat. The Commission oversees that very important process. If that is the case, as it is in other parts of the world â be it India, South Africa, the United States of America (USA) or Australia â we should have, as proposed in this Bill, a very powerful Commission Secretariat which is independent not only from the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, but also from all foreign forces. The Secretariat should have its full independence and only be accountable to the Kenyan people. If we will have such a secretariat, this Commission will not be controlled by anybody or any authority. Since the Constitution provides for such a secretariat, this Bill goes further to ensure that this aspect is fully realised. The Bill pays attention to the Report of the Kriegler Commission, which calls upon us to have a very solid and independent electoral body. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of a limited tenure of office is very critical, and it is fully catered for in this Bill. The commissioners will serve for a term of six years non-renewable, while members of the secretariat will serve for only two terms of five years. This is a very important provision. The controversial issue in this Bill is whether the commissioners should be executive or non-executive. As it is, we will have the chairperson and the vice- chairperson of the Commission serving as executive commissioners, who will be full time, while the other seven commissioners will be non-executive. The Constitution provides for commissioners to serve on non-executive and part-time basis. The issue here is the power relations between the two categories of commissioners. There will be two Commissioners who will be serving on full-time basis, and who will be insiders, and others who will be serving on part-time basis, and who will be seen to be outsiders. So, the issue of the power relations between these two categories of commissioners must somehow be addressed. Even though both categories will be Commissioners, the Commission will be seen to be having two categories of commissioners. We are doing this to address the problems we have had in this country. In the past, we have had very powerful commissioners. In fact, it was tantamount to having 10 Chief Executive Officers (CEO) running one institution. That kind of system did not work in Kenya, and it does not work anywhere else in the world. Therefore, I strongly support the idea of having a very powerful secretariat. I do not think there is any problem in some commissioners serving on part-time basis. If you look at our case critically, you will appreciate that we have elections once every five years. In the fifth year, the commissioners are very active and heavily engaged, but what will the commissioners, whom we will be paying so much money, be doing in office in the first four years? That is an issue we need to address. It is for that reason that we should have a very powerful secretariat, and have commissioners serving on a part- time basis. I do not think there is anything wrong with this. It has worked elsewhere in the world and it can also work in this country. I am not rigid on this issue. I can be persuaded otherwise, but I believe that, that may be the way to go. This came from the Kreigler recommendations. We asked for reforms and we have been given one. Let us live with it. What is important here is to have an independent electoral body. Independence is paramount here in order for us to build confidence in our electoral system and remove the perception that has always been there that this Commission might be partisan and as a result, build the trust that we need in that system. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of staggering appointments of the commissioners, this seeks to enhance continuity. As it is, the Chairman and four commissioners will serve in the first Commission and the other few will come on board at a later stage. This will address the issue of regional balance. I think in some of these commissions, we do not have to deal with the issue of regional balance. Let us give them the independence. It is about this country, Kenya, and all of us believing, having confidence and trust in the Commission. Staggering the appointment of the commissioners, in addition to enhancing continuity, serves a major purpose here. If we appoint these commissioners by June this year and they serve for six years on non-renewable terms, the next batch will come up for appointment in 2017 since we have elections every five years. We are basically saying that by 2017, the commissioners will be done with their job and we will be appointing a new Commission to conduct elections that year. I do not think it will be realistic. I think we should be far sighted, look at this issue holistically and embrace the staggering concept because it serves a fundamental purpose which will serve us not just now, but even, God willing, seven years from now. If we do not do that, then, for sure, come June or July, 2017, we will be looking for a new body which will be conducting that election maybe within even five months. I do not think it will be realistic. Because of that, the staggering concept here does serve a purpose. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I welcome the use of appropriate technology in terms of managing our electoral system. As we have seen, it served us very well during the Referendum. To a degree, appropriate technology was used in Wajir South, Juja and Makadara by-elections and, even during the national referendum. That is the way the world is going. By embracing this modern technology, we will be able to have the sophisticated democracy that we have been yearning for as Kenyans for a long time. I hope that in addition to using the appropriate technology, we will go ahead and include the appropriate approaches where necessary in the conduct of our electoral management process. I have a major issue with the Fifth Schedule of this Bill. I want to quote Paragraph Two of the Filth Schedule which says:- âThe Commission shall, in addressing the issues arising, take into account Articles 88 and 89 of the Constitution and use; (a) as primary reference material, the report of the former Boundaries Commission as tabled before the National Assembly; as well as (b) the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the former Boundaries Commission; and (c) any other relevant materialâ."
}