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{
    "id": 690265,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/690265/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 400,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. A. B. Duale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "For Hon. Nyenze, Hon. Midiwo and I to sign something together, it is like when Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed the National Accord. This reminds me about 2008 when Hon. Raila Odinga and Hon. Mwai Kibaki signed the National Accord. During that time, little did I know that one day I would be the Leader of the Majority Party and that together with the Leader of the Minority Party we would have an opportunity to do a similar thing. The opportunity has come now. I want to go on record that the Communication made by the Speaker concerning amendments to this Bill is very clear. I hope every Member will read that Communication. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I hope Members have gone through this Bill. I will now highlight the proposed amendments in this Bill. This Bill proposes to amend the Election Act, 2011; the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Act, 2011; the Political Parties Act, 2011; the Supreme Court Act, 2011; and the Registration of Persons Act Cap 106 in order to address various issues in these pieces of legislation which have been noted by the Committees of both Houses. The Bill is with regard to the conduct of free and fair elections in 2017. Indeed, that is the genesis of this Bill. This Bill touches, in one way or the other, all those pieces of legislation I have mentioned. If you look at Clause 2 of this Bill, you will see that it seeks to amend Section 2 of the Elections Act. The function of that amendment is to clarify the fact that there is only one register of voters. It does so by substituting the phrase “principal register”. They now call it “principal register” but it is being referred to as “register of voters” in the Bill. So, it also defines the term “biometric” in Clause 2. It also defines the phrase “integrated electronic electoral system” Clause 3 seeks to amend Section 5 of the Elections Act, 2011. What does it do? It basically disallows the use of acknowledgement of registration certificate popularly known as “waiting cards” as an identification document for the purpose of an election. So, the waiting card is completely prohibited and banned under Clause 3. In the wisdom of the Joint Select Committee, it cannot be used for any purpose of identification for an electoral system. Clause 4 seeks to amend Section 6 of the Election Act, 2011. It is giving a requirement to the IEBC to maintain a public web portal to allow online inspection of the register. This is very critical. Kenyans can use a certain portal, send or use a certain platform where it can show you whether you are registered, your voter’s card number, your identity card number, constituency, ward and county. That is what Clause 4 does. You do not need to visit the IEBC offices and go through a voluminous register to look for your name. You just need to use that portal. Clause 5 seeks to amend the Elections Act, 2011 by inserting a new sub-section called 6A. What does it do? It is supposed to provide a 90 days period for the biometric verification of the register of voters before a general election. So, the biometric voter register must be inspected and be working 90 days before the general election. Clause 6 seeks to amend the Elections Act, 2011. It is introducing a new sub-section called “8A”. This is providing for an audit of the register of voters. It requires that the IEBC does an audit before the August, 2017 general election. In this clause, the IEBC must engage an independent firm to conduct an audit to verify the accuracy of the register and update it. Further, they will table that Report to both Houses of Parliament. They will give the implementation matrix and recommendations of how they are going to do it. If the Houses are very happy with that Report, I am sure they will endorse it. There was something which was not very clear. The oversight role of these Bills and Report will basically be under the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. That is the Committee which, under the Standing Orders of both Houses, has the mandate to oversee the 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."
}