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{
    "id": 638950,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/638950/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 199,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1889,
        "legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
        "slug": "chrisantus-wamalwa-wakhungu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. Indeed, scientific research has shown that women are better managers than men. This is academic. So, I have no doubt that we should pass this Bill. This is a constitutional time-frame Bill. This is well proven. If we borrow from Article 177 of the Constitution, it is something that has happened in the counties. So, we are not going to re-invent the wheel or whatever the case. Mine is to encourage our colleagues to support this Bill. Indeed, it is coming at the right time. My only worry is the issue of size. Research has shown that the population of women who vote is about 55 per cent. As we bring this Bill on board, we encourage women voters to vote in women. Women should also come out competitively. When I look at this Bill, there is a clause which I am happy about in terms of nomination. When it comes to nomination, we do not want to find people nominating their girlfriends or their relatives. We must have a framework in place so that the women who are going to compete for those competitive seats, the best loser or whatever the case, should be given priority as far the nomination is concerned. My worry is that you are going to see many women shying away from elective seats. If such a case is going to happen, for example in a population of 296, you will have only men elected. Then it will require that a third has to be nominated. The pressure on the wage bill is going to be high. As we put this Bill in place, it is important that women go for those elective seats so that they can increase from 16 to 32, so that the number of women to be nominated goes down. This is going to be very critical and it should go to people out there. The amendment to the Political Parties Act and Elections Act are two critical laws that will govern elections. The Political Parties Act states that political parties must embrace this by giving some reserved positions for women to go for that particular nomination. This will increase the chances of women who are going to be there. I have a proposal that if you want to encourage more women to be elected, then those who are already Members of Parliament should go for the respective constituency seats to allow other women to come in for purposes of affirmative seats of the 47 counties. By moving that way, we will minimise the high percentage of women who will be nominated to take care of the wage bill. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}