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{
    "id": 718964,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/718964/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 81,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Onyura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12833,
        "legal_name": "Michael Aringo Onyura",
        "slug": "michael-aringo-onyura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I stand to support the Motion. It is important and timely. It just depends on how you look at it. I believe Hon. Njomo has been prompted to bring this Motion after observing the kind of apathy and indifference that is seen around the country with those who are supposed to be registering as voters. Can you just imagine that a whole President and the Opposition leaders are going round the entire country, spending a lot of energy and resources to persuade people to register as voters? The numbers that we are seeing are still very discouraging. We need to look for other mechanisms to make sure that the situation changes. If we decide to sit back, we will not be helping the situation. We have only 10 days to the closure of the exercise. As you have rightly observed, this is something which will help us in the future. Maybe, in their discussion the Committee might come up with mechanisms to extend the period or make it continuous up to a certain stage. It is worth going to the Committee to be looked at in detail and maybe even to try and consult other agencies in the country. I am just wondering what researchers are saying? We need to engage some researchers from our academic institutions or just professional researchers to go out there and find out what the problem is. Why are people not turning up for registration? The IEBC has said that we have a potential of 9 million new voters. They are targeting about 6 million new voters. Even with that, they will be lucky to get half of it. Something must be seriously wrong. We need to ask ourselves these questions and see what we can do to make the situation better. I agree with the suggestion that the voter registration exercise should be integrated with the national ID registration. I do not see why that cannot be done. The numbers we are talking about are those of people who have already been issued with national IDs. People have been issued with national IDs, but they do not have voters cards. Suppose at the time they were issued with IDs they were automatically registered as voters? Suppose IDs became the voters cards as well? We would not be going through the kind of apathy that we are seeing now. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am also aware that Kenyans are last-minute people. Do not be surprised that as we move closer to the 14th February deadline, we will have long queues, which will be impossible in various registration centres. We just need to look for a way of raising awareness by giving wananchi civic education, so that they can acquire the right attitude and go to register. I suggest that we use people in every level to mobilise people to register. Let us use the Provincial Administration officials like assistant chiefs and chiefs, to launch a door-to-door campaigns to persuade people to register as voters. Therefore, I want to strongly support this initiative. I think it is good. For those who feel that it is late, at times it is said that it is better late than never. We need to ask ourselves what is happening to Kenyans. Electing leaders is a civic duty and a responsibility just like paying taxes. There is need to create awareness. I support"
}