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    "id": 687607,
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    "content": "next elections, because we have done everything possible to propose reforms that will guarantee transparency, accountability and verifiability of our election results. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, my time is short, but allow me to refer the Members to the recommendations of this Committee, which are in Chapter Six of this Report. The four thematic areas that the Committee worked on were in the following order. On Thematic Area No.1 we were supposed to consider allegations against the commissioners and the secretariat of the IEBC, specifically focusing on their credibility, impartiality, integrity and independence. On the basis of those allegations, we were supposed to recommend legal mechanism for vacation from office of the current commissioners and the secretariat, in accordance with the Constitution. The Committee received a lot of memoranda and we listened to the public for almost 20 days. The Committee finally decided not to make any findings or vote on the basis of the allegations made against the members of the commission. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, my colleague has touched on many of the recommendations which were made by the Committee. However, the most controversial issue is what has been referred to as party-hopping. After the discussion, we agreed that it is important to strengthen the political parties in this country and that the chaos that we see in the nomination processes of various parties, be reduced so that we can have internal democracies within parties so that the chaos in political parties does not follow us into the elections. It was proposed that the nomination should be done strictly by members of the parties. The political parties should submit the lists of the party members to the IEBC at least 90 days before a General Election. The political parties shall also forward the names of the candidates who shall participate in the nomination 21 days before the nomination. The names must be published in the Kenya Gazette within seven days of their receipt. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it was also proposed that the IEBC publishes the lists of the party primaries for all political parties in the Kenya Gazette and that the IEBC, at the request of any political party conducts and supervises party nominations in accordance with their mandate under Article 88 of the Constitution. The Report proposes that once the names of the party candidates and independent candidates who will contest in the general elections are submitted to the IEBC at least 60 days before the election and that14 days before the nomination date, all independent candidates submit their names to the IEBC. If the candidates of the political parties and those of the independent are forwarded to the IEBC, and published in the Kenya Gazette, a person cannot change his or her political status. If a candidate participates in a nomination under one party and loses, then the candidate cannot participate in the nominations of another party. Such candidates cannot even participate in the election because they are barred. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, similarly, the losing candidate cannot participate as an independent candidate. I know a lot of debate is being raised about this issue but time has come for us to take political parties seriously. If a person is a member of a political party, he or she should be bound by the rules of that particular political party. If he or she 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."
}