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{
    "id": 670605,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/670605/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 206,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1889,
        "legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
        "slug": "chrisantus-wamalwa-wakhungu"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, the consultations are very high. Hon. Mbadi and the Leader of the Majority Party are making noise. Can you order them to sit down? My humble request to the 14 Members who have been selected is that they debate this matter with sober minds. I can see Hon. Kuria is paying a lot of attention and he is one of the Members of the Committee. I assume he is going to do good work. I have no doubt that this Committee, with the blessings from the church, has what it takes. All the 42 million Kenyans are looking at these Members. Within a timeframe of 30 days, we must have a clear framework on what we are going to do. We have many electoral laws like the Elections Act, the Political Parties Act and the IEBC Act. I wish Hon. Midiwo could listen. I know the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill is being discussed. My humble request is that we suspend debate on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill until we finalise debate on these reforms. We should incorporate the findings of the Joint Committee in the Bill. So, it is important for the House Business Committee to suspend debate on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill to wait for the resolutions of this Committee. Hon. Speaker, matters of elections cut across many aspects. The Elections Act stipulates that if you have a waiting card, you should be allowed to register as a voter. This is the law, but the IEBC does not allow people to register with waiting cards as voters. The Joint Select Committee should put that in place, so that it is implemented and all Kenyans with waiting cards are allowed to vote. It is not only CORD that has taken up this matter, but the church has also been on the frontline. I want to thank the civil society for being on the frontline to call for electoral reforms. For us to have free and fair elections, it should not only be about commissioners leaving office, but we need wider reforms in the electoral process. We should also look at the IEBC Secretariat because we are told rigging is done through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). As we move to remove the commissioners from office, we must look at the entire structure of the electoral process. As we embark on this process, it is important for the election date, which is August, to remain as stipulated in the Constitution. That should be one of the clear terms of reference that this Committee must adhere to."
}