Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 718980,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/718980/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 97,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. F. K. Wanyonyi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2065,
        "legal_name": "Ferdinard Kevin Wanyonyi",
        "slug": "ferdinard-kevin-wanyonyi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me an opportunity. From the outset, I want to thank Hon. Njomo for coming up with this Motion although it is a bit late as most speakers have said. Voter apathy and indifferences are our own creation. People are not interested in voter registration and as someone mentioned, almost 80 per cent of us may not make it back to this Parliament. This is because of our development records. Potential voters ask themselves why they should waste time registering as voters and they are not getting anything out of it. Not in terms of handouts, but in terms of development. I am sure that most potential voters, and you will agree with me, will be enticed to register as voters because they want to retain whoever is there for the purpose of continuity of development in their areas. I once travelled to New Zealand on business and not for leisure, and there, anybody above the age of 18 years is supposed to vote because that is their universal suffrage. Therefore, the right to vote and choose a leader of your own is automatic after attaining 18 years. The law in New Zealand provides that if you fail to vote, that is a crime. I want to announce in this House that I am working on a Motion which will compel all Kenyans who are 18 years and above to vote. That is what I think Hon. Njomo wanted to put across that anybody who is 18 years and above should be compelled to vote. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the President for having made it easier for people to get ID cards within three days. I wonder why there was a delay. Sometimes back we asked the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Interior and Coordination of National Government and the Registrar of Persons to appear before the Committee on Implementation and tell us why it was taking a long time for people to get ID cards. We were promised that people in all urban and rural areas would get ID cards within 30 days. I believe the best way is for us to persuade our people to register as voters. It is not just about the numbers, but it is a right for all of us to take part in elections. No wonder when you go to the rural areas people are being ferried from one registration station to another across either wards or constituencies to boost numbers, which is illegal. I read in the newspapers this morning 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."
}