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{
    "id": 670074,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/670074/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 258,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Shaban",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 139,
        "legal_name": "Naomi Namsi Shaban",
        "slug": "naomi-shaban"
    },
    "content": "the Senate, Article 98(3) says that nothing in this Article shall be construed as excluding any person from contesting an election under Clause 1(a). In the Senate, we have a specific party list. If the same Senators are allowed to contest and appear in the list, we cannot make two sets of laws for Kenyans that Parliamentarians can go into an election and at the same time you can be on the party list. It is very clear in the Constitution. We cannot purport to be amending the Constitution through an Act of Parliament. These are the issues I am using. We shall raise the necessary amendments, so that it can conform to our Constitution. The other issue I needed to raise is that of stopping public officers from vying in an election by changing the requirement of six months and increasing it to one year within which public officers should have resigned before. We cannot make laws which lock out Kenyans, yet they have experience of working in the Government, the Civil Service and parastatals. This is getting rid of people who are going to vie for the same seats with us and making it impossible for them to vie. This is also unconstitutional and wrong. I thought the six months was too much, but it had to go hand in hand with the time when nominations are done. So, the six months looked good enough and the amendment here increases it to one year. This is not acceptable. All these should be amended. We will propose amendments so that we can maintain the six-month period to allow other Kenyans to exercise their democratic right in participating in elections and being elected like us who have been given an opportunity to serve our people. Most of the MCAs have gone back to school to obtain diplomas. I am aware that in my county, most of them are pursuing diploma courses. That is happening everywhere. Not everybody can sit in class especially people who are advanced in age. It might be difficult for them. Some of them are trying, but for others, it will be difficult. As I conclude, is it possible for us to lock out former Members of Parliament and MCAs because they do not have these required degrees and diplomas? Is it possible for us to lock them out starting from 2017? Can you imagine that you were once a Member of Parliament and now, all of a sudden, you do not qualify to be a Member of Parliament? We have to be very careful so that as we do this, we do not abrogate our Constitution."
}