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{
    "id": 928151,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/928151/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 308,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ndaragwa, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Jeremiah Kioni",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 49,
        "legal_name": "Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni",
        "slug": "jeremiah-kioni"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Bill or debate. As I do so, I think I need to say, at the outset, that the Committee that I chair, the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee, has a similar Bill on IEBC. Of course, we will seek for guidance going forward as to what we will do with it because it is also coming for Second Reading, perhaps, next week. That helps me to contribute to this debate by saying that it is important we allow ourselves into this debate. It is crucial for Members of Parliament to make sure that… Like others have said, instead of being dismissive of this work that has been done by the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs… I think there are other two attempts to try and get the IEBC or our electoral process in some form and order. It is important that we engage in the debate in a sober manner knowing very well that one of the reasons why we had difficulties in 2017 is because we allowed ourselves into that debate and constituting the IEBC too late in the day. We were trying to put commissioners into office less than eight months before the elections took place - really even outside the advice that we had been given by Kriegler that we should always try and make sure that commissioners are in office at least 24 months before the date of elections. So, this is a very important debate that we should have. I see quite a number of Members of Parliament have been caught by surprise, but it is good that they get surprised now than get surprised when we are just a few months before elections. This is because now we have an opportunity to discuss the Bill and even the issues that have been raised by Members and agree on them. One of the key things about this country when we approach elections is the mistrust and suspicion. It is not just among us. You also see it in the United States of America. When elections are nearing, we see the same kind of behaviour with the Democrats and the Republicans and it is already showing in the manner that Trump and others are behaving. So, it is important that we allow ourselves into this debate. As we do so, it is always good to note that even after having condemned IEBC in the manner that we did and very many people going to court and filing petitions… Over 300 petitions were filed, but only less than five of them were successful for the reason that we may not be able to see it as politicians. But those they contracted like auditors to go and audit the work they did have really given them a good report. We were with this Commission in India recently to observe the electoral system in India and you could see the kind of reception that they were being given and the respect that was being accorded to them. I do not want to start here to heap praise on our IEBC Commissioners, 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."
}