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{
    "id": 846356,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/846356/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 262,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tharaka, DP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Gitonga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13491,
        "legal_name": "George Gitonga Murugara",
        "slug": "george-gitonga-murugara"
    },
    "content": "It is important to note that constitutional amendments may not be brought through an Omnibus. They are brought as and when it becomes necessary to amend the Constitution. It happens like that everywhere in the world and that is why Americans are very keen on trying to number them right from the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment and all the way to whatever number they have. Laws are not made in one day, but progressively as life goes on. We were given quite a number of reasons as to why the citizens of the Republic felt that the date should be changed. The most common one was that the school calendar must be respected. The national exams, which are normally ordinarily done in October and November, should be respected and given some sanity when they are being done instead of being embroiled in political disputes, especially when there is a rerun and the numerous petitions that take place. It was felt that we should have the elections in December, when life is calm, children are out of school and every citizen is in a festive mood. What we were told to compare is what happens when elections are done in December and when they were in August. The turnout was better in December than it was in August. The second reason were given is that August is so close to the end of the financial year, especially now that we have to work with the famous Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). In August, there may be problems in accessing funds to finance the elections. However, when this is done in December, there is sufficient time to organise and ensure that the funds set aside for elections are actually utilised. The only problem that Hon. Chris Wamalwa will have is to marshal the requisite numbers that are required to pass a constitutional amendment. Of late, you have seen what is happening in terms of members being in the House. Therefore, quite some lobbying will have to be done so that this is done by the two-thirds majority. There are many other constitutional petitions that are pending. Some of them seek to amend various Articles of the Constitution. Unfortunately, they are all not at the same stage. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}