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{
    "id": 692252,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/692252/?format=api",
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    "content": "party, they will remain there and wait for the nominations which will happen after 21 days. After that list has been forwarded, you cannot change your party. There have been a lot of public comments on the so called party-hopping law. My understanding is that this provision is not telling Kenyans not to party-hop. It is saying that if you must party-hop, you hop as early as now. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you can see the excitement which this thing is causing especially to the past beneficiaries of hopping like the Senate Minority Leader who has now been rendered quite relevant. What we are saying is that hoppers will still benefit but early enough. You cannot hop on the eve of elections, one month after elections or after nominations. In fact, we have just removed the timeline for hopping and brought it to as early as possible. So, all the hoppers in town and all over should hop. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other thing is the issue of partly lists which has been very contentious. In the past, we have been providing lists after nominations but this Bill proposes that that should be done at least 45 days to elections. For purposes of record, the practice has been and it is in the Constitution that the party list should be provided before the election. What used to happened, especially in the previous election, is that the lists were done before the election and nominations. Some people who had been put in the party list ended up disowning or even campaigning against parties that eventually sponsored them and the parties were left helpless. They could not change. What this Bill has cured now is that the party list and those who have been nominated to Parliament and county assemblies will be nominated after the partly primaries have been done, so that, for example, if there is a person who has not done well in the nominations and he is loyal to a party, he could be considered. Also, because at that point people cannot change parties, at least you will be sure of the loyalty of the people you are nominating. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, those are the few highlights I wanted to make and I do not want to go further than that. I take this opportunity, once more, to thank Senators for their sacrifice to sit over lunch hour to dispense this very important national duty. I hope when time for voting comes, we will consider voting favourably. With those few remarks, I beg to move and request the Senate Minority Leader to second briefly."
}