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{
    "id": 759985,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/759985/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 76,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "systems. This was because it is only through the manual system that the voter can track his vote and the results to the logical conclusion. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you never know; the courts might come to a similar conclusion in the case that is in court, just like the same way we had a judgement this morning from Justice Mativo in the High Court. All these decisions will require a National Assembly and a Senate or Parliament that are flexible enough to respond to the needs of the people. We cannot close our eyes and say that we will do nothing. We must do something so that we can accommodate those issues. There are those who are also perpetuating propaganda that we want to reduce the powers of the Chairman of the IEBC. Far from it, this law does a very noble task; that when there is a vacancy in the position of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman will be able to perform the duties of the Chairman until such a time that the Chairperson will be substantially appointed. If there is a situation where the Chairperson and the Vice- Chairperson are not there, there must be a possibility of the Commission electing a person who will perform the duties of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson. Therefore, this is a very critical amendment. We have also a very important provision in the amendments that creates the quorum of the Commission to the Constitutional minimum. People must understand the logic behind this amendment saying that we must have a quorum of the IEBC at any given time not below three commissioners. It is because the Constitution says that if you want to form any commission in the Republic of Kenya, you must have at least three commissioners. That is the constitutional minimum. I was in the Committee that came up with the reduction of the IEBC commissioners from nine to seven. We have another opportunity in future perhaps we will say that the maximum number of commissioners in the IEBC should be five or we come to three. That is why in law; we came to this conclusion that the minimum quorum for the Commission to function is three commissioners. This law does not sit on its own. It has also certain provisions that state how a meeting can be called, requirements for the notice that is given to the members for a meeting to be called and how the resolutions of the Commission are arrived at by the commissioners. Therefore, somebody alleging that we are creating a possibility of two or three people to sit in a corner and make a decision, it not true. He has not read the law. The law is not sitting in isolation. It is actually siting in conformity with other provisions of the law. We have also made it abundantly clear there that the decisions of the Commission are better made with consensus; the unanimous decisions of the Commission. However, where there is a dissenting opinion, the majority must have the final say in the decision. Their majority decision will be the decision of the Commission just like it happens everywhere in this world. The next amendment in Section 6 deals with the amendment of Section 39 of the Elections Act. That amendment deals with electronic transmission and physical delivery of results. There is again an erroneous argument out there, that physical delivery of results is wrong. The primary document that determines that an election has been done in this country is the physically filled form. We are talking about electronic transmission by scanning a form and then transmitting it."
}