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{
    "id": 901661,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/901661/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 287,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No. 33 of 2018) be now read a Second Time. The principal objective of this Bill is to amend the Elections Act and the Elections Offences Act with a view of enhancing transparency in the electoral system. The Election Act No. 24 of 2011was enacted to provide for the conduct of elections to the various political offices in the country and for the conduct of referendum. The Bill comes against the backdrop of the 2017 General Elections and the several by-elections conducted thereafter. A central feature of an electoral system is a functioning democracy and the right to free and fair election which are characterised inter alia by a process that is transparent and administered in an impartial, neutral, efficient, accurate and accountable manner. Accountability and transparency are obligations that are only placed upon the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and all actors in the electoral process including candidates and their agents or representatives. Clause 2 of the Bill proposes to amend Section 2 of the Act by inserting the definition of the word ‗declaration form‘ to mean a form containing the tallied results of an election. Currently, the word declaration, which is extensively used in the Act and which has been the subject of misinterpretation in the election world in Kenya is not defined. Section 39 of the Elections Act, 2011 makes provision for the determination and declaration of results by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). These provisions outline the procedure of the initial tallying, announcement and declarations of elections by the constituency returning officers to the final declaration of the results of the elections of the President in case of a presidential election. Clause 3 of the Bill proposes to amend Section 39 of the Elections Act by having the presiding officer and the candidates or agents sign the prescribed declaration form for the election. The Bill also makes provision for the presiding officer to immediately announce the results at the polling station before communicating it to the returning officer. The amendments proposed in this Bill are intended to shield the winners of the election from mischievous losers who intentionally decline to sign the forms during the counting and tallying of the votes with the intention of challenging the results in a court of law. The Bill, therefore, seeks to not only ensure the validity of the electoral system but to cushion the justice system from abuse. Therefore, the presiding officer shall request the candidates present to append their signatures and shall provide them with a copy of the declarations of the results. A copy of the declaration of the results shall also be affixed at the public entrance of the polling station or any place that is convenient and accessible to the public at the polling station. Clause 3 of the Bill provides for instances where a candidate or agent has an objection to the tally of the results. In that case, the presiding officer is expected to note down the objections. The Elections Offences Act provides for elections. I propose to amend the Act in Clause 4 to read as follows: - The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}