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{
    "id": 915341,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/915341/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 298,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "(4) Parliament, after considering the Presidents’ reservations, may pass the Bill a second time, without amendment, or with amendments that do not fully accommodate the Presidents reservations, by a vote supported - (a) by two-thirds of the Members of the National Assembly; and (b) two-thirds of the Senate. Where this is causing Hon. Millie confusion is when it says “without amendment or with amendment”, but without amendment referred to here is where Parliament is taking back the Bill as it was before the President’s reservation. When you accommodate the President’s reservations, you have amended the Bill, but in line with what the President had recommended. In which case, you just require a simple majority of Members present at the time. It is not in doubt that when the President has veto power, it is such superior and excess power because getting two-thirds majority in a multiparty system is next to impossible. I think going forward, the people of Kenya either need to lower this threshold because it will hurt and it has started hurting. The other time, we were in the opposite side with you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairman, on the Finance Bill and I could see the frustration in the eyes of Members where they were even trying to push and force that they had the two-thirds even though they knew they did not have it. I have been in this Parliament long enough and I only remember we garnered two-thirds majority on the constitutional amendment to anchor in what we used to call the National Accord. In fact, it was because the country was burning and you could easily rally the Members. Otherwise, it is difficult to get the two-thirds. There was even a time former President Mwai Kibaki, and the former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, had to sit in this House to get us pass the Bill that was supposed to help us with the issue of The Hague and yet we could not get it. So, with regard to this veto power of the President, Kenyans need to think through it and lower it."
}