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{
    "id": 650952,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/650952/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 246,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, something worries me about the amendments. I say so because I happen to have been nominated as a rapporteur for gender parity of the IPU Parliament. In trying to enforce the gender parity, the Registrar of Political Parties has been compelled to enforce gender parity in terms of officers who are leaders of those political parties. The Political Parties Fund has been tied to nomination of persons of the opposite gender in political parties. The amendment proposed by this Committee in Clause 25 creates a new Clause C between Part 2(a) and Part 2(b). The word “or” is used disjunctively to distinguish part (a) which a party qualifies by securing not less than 5 per cent which has now been amended to 3 per cent and (b) more than two thirds of its registered office bearers are of the same gender and (c) Created by the mediation Committee does not create a disjunctive. There is no “or” to make it disjunctive or create “and” to make it conjunctive. Therefore, although I support this Bill, there is the Motion and the amendment. There appears to have been an omission. How they cure that omission, I do not know. Then, we would need yet another amendment because between (b) and (c) you do not know whether the “or” is (b) or that the “or” is (c). So, without an “or” after (b), it appears as if both are alternatives; which would not cure the anomaly that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale was talking about. The anomaly they were trying to remove or the mischief is that they wanted to make sure that a party that has the minimum that is proposed under (c), that is 21 elected Members in the National Assembly, three elected Members in the Senate, three elected Member who are governors and 45 Members of County Assembly (MCAs). So, we have created, in my view, in this amendment, two “ors” which would not solve the problem. So, somebody needs to look at that so that we know how to deal with it. Regarding the part of the compliance in terms of the distribution of the Fund, the person who is supposed to check that the distribution of the Fund is done in accordance with clause 25(1) and (b) is the Registrar of Political Parties. I am convinced that the Registrar of Political Parties has not audited how political parties are spending the money they have already received. We would have received that report by now. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the public hearings we had, you sat with me and other Committee Members, the mischief that most of the members of the public were seeking to solve is; in the era of multiparty system in Kenya, we have created so many briefcase parties in violation of Article 91 of the Constitution. It is now easy to distinguish that The Independent Party (TIP) is a political party of a small section of Kibwezi; Maendeleo Chap Chap Movement is a small party of a section of Ukambani and many others. It is possible that many of these small briefcase political parties will still arise. In terms of Article 91, to ensure that political parties are not tribal parties or a section of a number of people, I am suggesting that somebody – and I am happy that Sen. Wako has walked into the Senate – that the position of the Registrar of Political Parties must be confirmed. If the lady is not competent or does not qualify, then, another person should be put in place so that we can start enforcing Section 17 of the Political Parties The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}