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{
    "id": 901662,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/901662/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 288,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "‗Elections Offences Act is amended by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph q— (r) being a candidate refuses or fails to sign an election return form as required by law,‘ The penalties are already provided for in the Act. The fine should not exceed Kshs2 million or they can be imprisoned for not more than five years or both. I urge all Senators to enrich the debate on the content of the Bill and the amendment that I will move during the Committee stage. We spend millions of shillings campaigning just for the forms to be altered. We are all victims of this and many election petitions are as a result of the one form being altered. We experience these things and it is good that we learn from our experiences. Some of us spend millions of shillings fighting for our positions in the courts. At times, I feel that Kenyans are in the business of abusing the court process. You have got a form 38A or 36A that tallies with B. However, when it comes to Form 38C, those results change all of a sudden. Madam Temporary Speaker, you find that a candidate refuses to sign and then goes to court to challenge the results of that election. In this Bill, I am looking at a situation whereby, if the law says that you must sign the declaration of the results, then you must sign. If you refuse to sign and proceed to court, which is your right, you should not be allowed to rely on those forms because you refused to sign the form with declaration of results. The amendments sought here are to ensure that whether or not you agree with the results, you must sign them, go to court and tell the judge that you do not agree with them. What are you proceeding to argue in court if you refuse to sign the forms? Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill will save a lot of taxpayers‘ money for this country in order to ensure that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) sends a lawyer to represent it. The candidate who wins pays a lot of money so that he can at the end of the day be still declared the winner. In most of those cases, many people who lose do not end up paying the award given to the winner. I hope that many Senators will take time to look at the amendments that I am proposing because it is something that can help them individually. Since these are just one or two amendments, I do not intend to take more time on it. I request the Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Orengo, to second."
}