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{
    "id": 670537,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/670537/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 138,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nyenze",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1987,
        "legal_name": "Francis Mwanzia Nyenze (Deceased)",
        "slug": "francis-mwanzia-nyenze"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Thank you, Leader of the Majority Party for those very good platitudes. I am happy you still remember that you used to sing for me when I was a Cabinet Minister during those good days. I rise to second this Motion. It is a very important Motion because we all need electoral reforms. We need the laws to be relooked. We need a very clean and transparent electoral register. We also need issuance of identification cards (IDs). This Select Committee should look at all issues that refer to elections. One issue that has stood out very clearly is the issuance of IDs, especially in border areas and communities. People of Somali origin have had difficulties. Their representatives in the National Assembly have always complained that it is a very tall order for people who have attained the age of 18 to get IDs. This is true not only for the people of North Eastern Kenya but also in other areas of this country. The IDs should be issued throughout and should be made very easy to obtain. They should be issued to all people who are eligible to vote - that is people over the age of 18. If an electoral process is not efficient, transparent, accurate and acceptable, there are bound to be conflicts. We saw what happened in Kenya. We have seen and read about it in Sub- Saharan Africa. There have been a lot of conflicts. These conflicts come as a result of disputed elections. If we want this country to prosper and attain a growth of 10 per cent and above, we should reform the electoral process. I am happy about the 14 Members who have been selected. I thought we would select most of the lawyers because they have knowledge of the law but these people represent interest groups from both sides of the political divide. When the three principals of the CORD coalition plus His Excellency the President and his Deputy, Ruto saw the need to form this Select Committee, we were very happy because this country was on the brink of war. We had reached a cliff. For new Members who have come to this House, ethnic tensions cause conflict. When riots start, property is destroyed, the economy stagnates and before you realise it, people are killed in one corner then revenge missions start in the other corner. By the time you realise it, war has broken out. To stop it is not very easy. To start is very easy. This happens because of careless utterances from careless leaders who will not consider people’s lives because they will only be interested in gaining power. Doubts have been raised about the suitability of the IEBC, as it stands today, to referee the 2017 elections. I am happy that both sides of the political divide have realised that the IEBC, as constituted today, cannot deliver a fair result. As a result, we have established this Select Committee which will come up with recommendations on the disbandment and selection of fresh members, who will steer this country to a successful election. The results of an election will never be accepted by all sides all the time. If it is widely accepted and majority of the citizens see fairness, they will accept the result. However, in a situation where most of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits fail, it is unfair. There are corruption allegations like the Chicken Gate scandal and many things attendant to that. Therefore, IEBC should be disbanded. 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."
}