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{
    "id": 670095,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/670095/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 279,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mbui",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1750,
        "legal_name": "Robert Mbui",
        "slug": "robert-mbui"
    },
    "content": "voters with goodies for the next election. Sometimes our development agenda gets diverted because of interest in votes. I am aware there is a 14 Member Select Committee that we will discuss in this House that is supposed to deal with electoral reforms. I hope that by doing this, we will not be derailing what the other Committee is expected to do. We require reforms in this country. In the last election, there were six ballots, namely, for the Member of Parliament, MCA, County Women Representative, Senator, Governor and President and almost two million people voted for the President. We should look into these issues keenly, so that our next general elections will be credible and everybody will be comfortable with the outcome. On this Bill, the issue of academic qualifications has been talked about by very many Members. I am an educationist and I want to encourage the youth to understand the value of education. In essence, it is impossible for me to support a situation which says people can vie for any office without any particular academic qualifications. It is important. If you look at Article 90 of the Constitution which talks about the responsibilities of a Member of Parliament, it indicates that our work is to represent, oversee and legislate. In legislation, we are also talking about things to do with the Budget. It is not possible for someone to come up with laws or interpret the Budget if they have not been to school properly. One of the things that intimidate people a lot is academic qualifications. If Members who do not have degrees oversee a CS who has a Masters Degree or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), they will be intimidated. It is important for us to put a minimum standard of academic qualification. I propose a degree as this Election Laws (Amendment) Bill says here. However, it is not enough to just have the academic degree, but the IEBC can look at experiences of people. There are people who do not have degrees, but the work they have been doing over time qualifies them as degree holders. Issues of party membership lists have been addressed in this Bill. We must ask the Commission to be thorough in confirming actual members of political parties in this country. Many parties are coming up for the 2017 General Election and one of them is in my Machakos County called Chap Chap. If you visit the governor, you are told to sign some document somewhere and you are not told you are joining a party. In essence, I believe a lot of the signatures that people are signing in meetings are a way of wooing people to become members of a party without being informed. It is important for the Commission to check how people are acquiring membership to these parties. There is the issue of party nomination rules. I propose that nomination rules for all our political parties be harmonised. Every political party may have their own way of nominating which can, in a way disadvantage members. It is important we come up with a law that encompasses all the parties. The Commission should carry out the nomination process for political parties. The issue of the nine months limit for public servants to resign from public offices before elections is laudable and a very good idea. The obvious reason is that people have been known to abuse their offices for the sake of elections. We do not want to have a situation where people use their offices to campaign. We have always had a problem with the Executive in this country and it has always been the President and his deputy. Last 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."
}